Xi kicks off African trip with stop in Zimbabwe

Chinese President Xi Jinping, reviewsan honor guard during a welcome ceremony at Union Building Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015.

South Africa says they aren’t seeing that, though, and that trade between the two countries rose more than twofold from 2009 to 2013.

China, the world’s second-biggest economy, was offering technical support for industrialization projects to African countries such as the construction of power plants, Danish said.

“Chinese investors are becoming quite strong in terms of their investments in Zimbabwe”.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the visit to Harare by the Chinese leader shows the country’s growing trade and economic ties with Zimbabwe, whereas previously ties between the two countries mainly centred on diplomatic and political issues.

On Hwange Power Station expansion, the Zimbabwe Power Company represented by its managing director Engineer Noah Gwariro and Sinohydro represented by chairman of its parent company, Power China, Mr Yan Zhiyong, signed a cooperation agreement on Hwange 7 and 8 project. He will then receive a similar reception in South Africa before participating in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday – the first such top-level gathering to be held in Africa.

Cao said China was working with a team in the financial services sector on the circulation of the Chinese currency, yuan in Zimbabwe and may consider developing models such as the Ethiopian one, where China gives credit and the country may pay back in tobacco for instance.

The two leaders watched as cabinet ministers and industry leaders signed 26 bilateral agreements worth about $6.5 billion, that include a $500 million loan to Eskom, South Africa’s struggling national power supplier, according to a statement released by the South African government.

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.

Our cooperation on global affairs is becoming closer.

“We await the visit with very great interest and when he visits us we shall discuss some of the projects and programs we would want China to assist us in undertaking”, said Mugabe.

“It is a historic visit taking place on the eve of the first Focac (Forum for China-Africa Co-operation) summit in Africa”.

After their talks, Xi and Zuma also witnessed the signing of documents on cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, culture, science and technology.

The expected announcement is in line with his proposal made at the UN General Assembly in September on increasing aid to African countries to help them promote their peacekeeping ability so as to achieve common peace and prosperity.

“Zimbabwe’s parlous economic situation – a 45 percent decline in GDP between 1999 and 2008, a 90 percent jobless rate, chronic food insecurity, a yawning infrastructure deficit – Xi’s visit raises expectations of what China can, or should, do to help its stricken ally”, said The Source publication in Harare on Tuesday.