Boost for China-Africa cooperation

Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were warmly welcomed by Mugabe and his wife Grace Mugabe, two vice presidents and foreign ministers at the airport. Wenlian said the team had a discussion with government and initiated bilateral co-operation.

Liu noted investments by Chinese firms in Africa have helped alleviate the continent’s endemic challenges like poverty and unemployment.

“We can not have development without security”, said Ghulam Asmal, director of worldwide partnerships at South Africa’s Department of global Relations.

China is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign investor, pumping in $600 million in 2013, according to Chinese ambassador to Harare Huang Ping. Officials did not disclose the total value of the agreements.

While China is keen on the ideal of a united state of Africa so this is likely to come up in discussions, all eyes will be on what Chinese leaders think about democracy on the continent and whether it is going to add more money to the substantial loan to Africa that was announced in 2012.

“We are in close discussions with your embassy in Beijing so we have special economic zones (SEZ) and we are looking towards the implementation of SEZ”, he said.

Xi will hold talks with South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on Wednesday before the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) opens in Johannesburg’s financial district of Sandton. After decades of helping the African countries build infrastructure and providing them with aid, China has seen more companies expand their presence in other areas such as agriculture, transportation and consumer goods.

China highly appreciates the important role Mugabe has played in safeguarding African unity and promoting development of the continent as the rotating chairman of the African Union, said Xi.

THOUSANDS of people, among them President Mugabe and First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, yesterday thronged Harare International Airport to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping who is on a two-day State visit here.

This historic meeting of the world’s leading economy and Africa is expected to elevate China-Africa relations to a new level. Some also see China’s future investment tone changing.

He said both countries share the same development goal.

There are many interpretations given to a famous Chinese proverb which says, “if you are planning for a year grow grain, if you are planning for 10 years grow trees, but if you are planning for 100 years grow men”. However, as China’s economy shifts from one that is strongly resource consuming and manufacturing intensive to one that is more consumer and service-oriented, the nation’s relationship with Africa is changing. He contends Zimbabwe has not benefitted from the trade relationship between the two countries.

China became Africa’s largest trading partner in 2009, with volumes expected to exceed $300 billion this year.

Like India, China has looked to African states to bolster its profile. Xi also must protect an estimated 2 million Chinese working in some of Africa’s most unstable areas – a concern highlighted by a November 20 attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, that left at least 20 people dead, including three China Railway Construction Corp. executives.