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CHINESE president Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Zimbabwe early next month will be historic and bound to take the two countries’ growing economic and political relations and cooperation to a whole new level. The Chinese leader will be in Harare on a State visit, the second such visit by a Chinese president, the last being in 1996.

What makes president Xi’s visit to Harare very significant is the fact that the man to visit our borders is the leader of the second largest economy in the world. This means a lot politically and economically.

On the economic front, the visit is really a boost to the image of Zimbabwe in terms of correcting negative perceptions this country has suffered over the past few years. It also means that China is serious in doing business with Zimbabwe.

On the political front, this visit will also strengthen relations between Zimbabwe and China, which if all things being equal, should spin off positive gains in foreign investments from China and even beyond.

As such, all patriotic Zimbabweans have the reason to hold high expectations of the visit considering potential spin-offs beyond the strengthening of political relations dating back to the liberation struggle.

While China’s political support for Zimbabwe at international fora is no secret, stretching the relations to new and or higher frontiers of economic cooperation will transform the domestic economy in a big way and help realise its potential.

As the world’s second biggest economy, China boasts multi-trillion dollar balance sheets and financial reserves to invest in the listless sectors in the country after foreign direct investment from the West dried up in the last couple of decades.

Interestingly, China almost always signs agreements for economic, trade, political and cultural cooperation with most countries with which it has cordial relations and Zimbabwe already being China’s all-weather friend, the timing could not be better.

Similar patterns in China’s conduct on cooperation were observed when the Chinese president undertook State visits earlier this year to eight African countries including Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and Namibia.

Further, the biggest investment companies in China are state-owned and the high profile State visit by the Chinese president should lay even more fertile ground for profound trade and economic cooperation that could lift Zimbabwe out of its current quagmire.

The basis for more defined fruitful cooperation is already there in light of the Chinese investment already on the ground including cement production at Sino-Zimbabwe, exploitation of methane gas and construction of planned coal fired power station in Matabeleland North, support of contract farming by Tian Ze Tobacco, Huawei multi-million dollar telecommunication equipment facility for NetOne, expansion of Victoria Falls Airport and rehabilitation of Harare’s Morton Jaffray Water plant.

Last year, President Mugabe visited China and signed various mega deals that should see Beijing unlock funding for various projects. We believe the visit should certainly oil the implementation of the mega deals some of which are anticipated to take off soon.

The catalogue of China’s investment across the country’s diverse sectors of the economy is certainly innumerable, but the potential for more cooperation is extensive across the main sectors that include natural resources, infrastructure development, agriculture, manufacturing, ICTs, tourism and pharmaceuticals among others.