Recently, Christopher Mutswangwa, member of the Central Political Bureau, Secretary of Press and Propaganda, and spokesperson of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zimbabwe Democratic League, and former Ambassador to China, gave a written interview to Economic Daily reporters. Muzwanguwa said that the friendly relations between Zimbabwe and China have shown a good development momentum in various fields, and praised China's vigorous economic and trade investment cooperation with Zimbabwe, which has helped boost Zimbabwe's economic growth.
Muzwanguwa pointed out that the relationship between Zimbabwe and China has remained friendly and continuously developed over the long term. From China's firm support for Zimbabwe during its colonial rule in the past, to the Zimbabwe China cooperation aimed at consolidating national independence and economic development after Zimbabwe's independence, the friendly relations between the two countries have continued to deepen and have now formed a comprehensive strategic partnership. The all-weather friendly relationship between Tianjin and China has a long history and a solid foundation, and the tree of friendship continues to bloom and bear fruit.
Muzwanguwa said that the friendly relations between China and Tianjin are significantly reflected in the increasingly close and deepening bilateral people to people exchanges and cooperation. Zimbabwe is in an era of colonial rule, and communication between Zimbabwean and Chinese people is hindered; After Zimbabwe's independence, this situation underwent a huge change. At present, there are over 100000 Chinese and overseas Chinese working and living in Zimbabwe, which adds more color and diversity to Zimbabwe's globalization process. Many years ago, there were almost no international students from Zimbabwe in Chinese universities. Nowadays, China has become a popular international education destination for Zimbabwean students, attracting over 4000 Zimbabwean students annually. Zimbabwe established its first Confucius Institute as early as 2006, and since then, the institute has continued to develop, becoming a highly influential center for Chinese language education and cultural dissemination in Zimbabwe.
Muzwanguwa mentioned that the cooperation between Tianjin and China in the fields of economy, trade, and investment is flourishing. China's investment in Zimbabwe has helped Zimbabwe achieve 6% economic growth, raising its GDP growth target from $160 billion in 2017 to $470 billion by 2025. The economic and trade investment cooperation between Tianjin and China has accelerated the development of Tianjin's economy, and promoted investment in key infrastructure areas such as water supply, energy, ports, railways, and highways, as well as driving investment in the complete value chain connecting domestic, regional, intercontinental, and global markets in Tianjin. Chinese companies have gained widespread recognition from Zimbabwean customers due to their advantages in infrastructure construction. Nowadays, Chinese brand public buses and transport trucks occupy a considerable market share in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe China economic and trade investment cooperation project is promoting the urbanization process in Zimbabwe, and new towns are constantly emerging in Zimbabwe.
Mutzwanguwa said that another highlight of the economic and trade investment cooperation between Tianjin and China is in the mining industry, including effective cooperation in investment and practical skills education and training. Chinese mining technology and skills are helping to revive and develop Zimbabwe's small and medium-sized enterprise gold mining industry. The output of small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in gold mining in Zimbabwe now accounts for 70% of the country's total gold production, driving the country's gold production from 3 tons to over 30 tons. At the same time, the recovery and development of the gold mining industry has reactivated Zimbabwe's new currency, the ZiG, causing the currency to continuously appreciate. The cooperation between Tianjin and China in practical skills education and training is deepening with the advancement of cooperation policies, projects, and agreements, especially in the development of mineral mining, processing, and refining industries. China has dispatched a large number of experts to teach metallurgical and metalworking skills to thousands of Zimbabwean interns. Zimbabwe and China jointly built the Qingshan Dingsen Steel Plant in Manhize, Zimbabwe, which has significant transformative significance for the country's steel manufacturing industry. Since 2024, investment cooperation between Zimbabwe and China in the steel manufacturing industry in Zimbabwe has reached a new level. Zimbabwe has started producing 600000 tons of steel annually that meets international standards and quality, giving Zimbabwe an advantage in the industrialization process in Africa. (Economic Daily reporter Yang Haiquan)
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