Xi heads to Africa summit as Chinese investment slows

“The visit of President Xi is going to consolidate and cement some of the agreements and in fact undertaking also to further co-operate with respect to those agreements which are not yet mature for signing at this moment”, Chinamasa said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, reviewsan honor guard during a…

Xi’s visit is a major event in the history of Sino-African relations and a new milestone for China-Zimbabwe relations.

Several investment deals are set to be signed between the two countries at Zimbabwe’s State House on Tuesday evening and the ceremony will be presided over by Mugabe and his Chinese counterpart.

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a five-day trip to Africa this week with a stop in Zimbabwe Tuesday and expectations that he will sign deals to fund infrastructure projects. China has pledged $100 million of military aid for the African Union, sent an infantry battalion to support peacekeeping efforts in South Sudan and deployed frigates to fight piracy off the Somali coast, leading the country to consider building its first overseas naval resupply station in Djibouti.

China and South Africa should strengthen partnership in various aspects, Xi noted, calling on the two countries to be forward-looking strategic partners with strong mutual trust, development partners pursuing equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, friendly partners who understand and learn from each other, and global partners who support and coordinate closely with each other.

“The visit shows Beijing’s interest in “cementing relations between the two countries”, as specified by Xi, who applauded Zimbabwe’s role as acting chair of the African Union in favoring and reinforcing the development of the continent”.

Officials say they will create sustainable investment opportunities in both countries.

Chinese ambassador to Harare Huang Ping said that China is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign investor, pumping in $600 million in 2013.

“South Africa is economically the most developed and politically the most stable among the countries in Africa”, Zhang said.

South Africa will take advantage of hosting the summit by pushing for progress in existing areas of trade and cooperation between the two nations, and seeking new areas of cooperation, Danish said.

Cabinet ministers said the government is hoping for increased economic and trade cooperation with China in the wake of Xi’s visit.

Xi and a large Chinese delegation fly on to Johannesburg on Wednesday ahead of the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will gather leaders from across the continent.

While China is Africa’s biggest trading partner, with two-way flows exceeding US$220 billion past year, the pace of investment has slowed. “It’s only in the past 6 and 7 years that we have started an economic relationship”, the finance minister said.