Chinese president to head to Africa

Zimbabwean officials were viewing the visit as a vindication of President Robert Mugabe’s “Look East” policy undertaken after he alienated Western countries through rights abuses and alleged vote-rigging since 2000.

Addressing a Mass Public Opinion Institute public forum in Harare Thursday, MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu, said nothing will come out of the Zimbabwe-China mega deals.

Xi’s visit will be the first by a sitting Chinese head of State in 20 years and only the second in 35 years.

The team also includes business executives from various sectors in search of business opportunities and exploring possible joint ventures with Zimbabweans.

French President Francois Hollande, left, greets China’s President Xi Jinping as he arrives for the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.

“The programme is in place and will be published at the appropriate time”.

“Many projects are progressing well and we can expect to see more good results in the near future”, Ambassador Huang said.

On the mega deals to be signed he said: “We have agreed in principle and we are putting them (agreements) on the agreement text to be signed and this is what we will be doing most of the day (yesterday)”. “That is why President Xi chose Zimbabwe”, he said.

Last year, Mugabe visited China and clinched a number of cooperation deals in critical sectors of the economy.

The Chinese government will provide financial support for the projects, most of which are key economic enablers.

Xi is expected to attend a state banquet hosted by Mugabe and also visit the Heroes Acre memorial site that honours Zimbabwe’s war dead. The visit by President Xi is expected to take the relations a step further and help transform the political relations into tangible economic benefits.

The analyst, who is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Development Studies at the University of Zambia added that holding the summit in Africa is an indication that China is telling the world that it has no imperialist agenda and is interested in uplifting the welfare of African nations.

Represented at the meeting will be newspapers and news agencies, television and radio, and new media organisations from 43 countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, China, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt.

The cordial relations between Harare and Beijing have unsettled many Western countries that isolated Zimbabwe when it embarked on pro-people and black economic empowerment policies such as the land reform programme.

Wang made the remarks at the ministry’s 15th Lanting Forum on the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held in Johannesburg next week.

President Mugabe has indicated that Zimbabwe is looking forward to President Xi’s visit with great interest.