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Ranga Mataire
In international relations, and indeed in the pursuit of a country’s foreign policy, there is an unwritten understanding about the existence of permanent interests and not permanent friends.However, in the case of Zimbabwe and China the mutual co-operation and trust that have existed for over three decades have surely transformed the relationship into a permanent friendship whose genesis dates to the country’s struggle for independence.

President Mugabe’s recent visit to China, which culminated in the signing of landmark agreements for the provision of financial support in critical sectors of the economy, is testimony to the bosom relationship that exists between the two countries.

During the struggle for independence ZAPU, led by the late Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo, enjoyed cordial relations with the then Soviet Union while ZANU-PF sought relations with the Chinese for both financial and material support.

It was therefore not surprising that China was one of the first countries to formally establish diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe upon attainment of independence in 1980.

Thereafter, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, the late Dr Simon Muzenda, visited China to express gratitude for the assistance rendered during the liberation war.

In September of the same year, the then Chinese Vice Minister for Economic Relations Li Ke visited Zimbabwe for 13 days to explore various areas of mutual co-operation.

In furtherance of the relations between the two countries, President Mugabe later travelled to China to meet Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang.

It must be noted that all the early contacts were undertaken at a time when Zimbabwe still enjoyed sound relations with its former colonial power Britain, the United States and several Western and Eastern European nations.

A critical turning point in Zimbabwe’s relations with China came around 2001 when Britain mobilised its European partners to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe citing human rights violations, yet the real contentious issue was a bilateral dispute centred on the former colonial power reneging on its pledge to provide funding for the land reform programme.

Faced with the European Union sanctions and the United States economic embargo in the form of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, the country, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, effectively changed its diplomatic course.

In a statement issued on its website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly clarifies Zimbabwe’s diplomatic standing in light of the EU and US sanctions saying:

“Confronted with these numerous challenges resulting from the sanctions, the government of Zimbabwe adopted the Look East Policy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been on the forefront (in implementing) this policy, guided by the Government’s policy, vision and strategy documents designed to increase Zimbabwe’s co-operation with a number of countries in Asia and the Far East.”

The statement highlights the visions and strategies that provide the guidelines on the thrust of Zimbabwe’s co-operation and prioritises projects in which Zimbabwe has comparative advantage, projects that are ready for implementation, projects that will promote exports, joint ventures and projects meant to assist in the re-capitalisation of distressed public enterprises.

Consequently, a deliberate decision was taken to initially focus on China, Iran, Indonesia, India and Malaysia in effecting this policy. Far from being a knee-jerk response to bust sanctions, Zimbabwe has always had warm relations with the Asian country, which were cemented and formalised through the Look East Policy.

When the Government adopted the Look East Policy, some Zimbabweans expressed misgivings stemming from the belief that the only way to achieve economic revival was to adopt prescriptions from the West.

They also felt that Zimbabwe, as the smaller of the two nations, was likely to be on the losing end of China’s “vulturistic” quest for resources to feed its ballooning industrial base.

Over time, the financial crisis experienced in the US and the West exposed the dilemma of over-reliance on so-called traditional trading partners.

In its essence, Zimbabwe’s Look East Policy aims at expanding bilateral and trade relations and offer priority to investors from not just China but Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, India and Russia. Over the years and also given the historical links that binds Zimbabwe and China, the latter became more active than all other Asian countries.

It is therefore not surprising that barely seven years after adoption of the Look East Policy, China became the biggest buyer of Zimbabwe’s tobacco, purchasing over 13 000 tonnes of tobacco between January and October of 2007.

The Asian nation has invested in Zimbabwe more than any other nation, with 35 companies spending US$600 million.

Just last year alone, China invested more than £360 million in Zimbabwe.

It has also provided more than US$600 million worth of loans for the mechanisation of agriculture through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

But the surge in Chinese investment in Zimbabwe is not an act of charity. It is informed by the availability of mineral resources in the country.

The Chinese are also informed by the fact that they can leverage on President Mugabe’s current chairmanship of Sadc to invest in regional projects. President Mugabe will next year assume the chairmanship of the African Union, which should possibly give the Chinese leverage to invest in continental projects.

But the deals are not one-way traffic as Zimbabwe also has a lot to benefit from its engagement with its all-weather friend. Zimbabwe is aware of the shift in economic power relations in the world and China is leading it.

China’s booming economy is likely to continue for a long time.

The booming Chinese economy provides Zimbabwe with a lifeline in the face of sanctions from the West. The “Go Abroad” policy introduced by the Chinese in 2000 also coincided with Zimbabwe’s ostracisation by the West.

The “Go Abroad” policy encouraged Chinese investments in other parts of the world. The policy facilitated the capitalisation of state-owned enterprises to enable them to seek investment opportunities around the world.

Cheap loans were availed to companies wishing to invest around the world and the special focus on Africa resulted in the formation of the Forum for China-Africa Co-operation (Focac).

All these developments were sweet melody to Zimbabwe’s economy reeling under enormous stress from its traditional Western trade and investment partners.

Consequently, there was a surge in Chinese investment which resulted in the state-owned Sinosteel Company coming to invest in Zimbabwe.

Those that express misgivings over Zimbabwe’s engagement with China must be alive to the fact that every country wants a piece of the Chinese market.

The other economic reality is that due to its booming economy and massive size, China’s middle class is also ballooning and in turn increasing disposable income. This is the economic reality which has also resulted in the world’s major corporates setting up shop in China in order to harness that ballooning middle class.

Mr Manyika Kangai, a director of Muvambi Global, a trade and investment consultancy company, makes interesting points about China’s booming economy and why it is good for Zimbabwe.

Mr Kangai argues that the avalanche of potential investors in China gives Zimbabwe leverage in bargaining for better deals.

“If our traditional Western trade and investment partners are not offering us a good deal, we can walk away and go deal with the Chinese. The West knows this, so it gives us some leverage when we go to the negotiating table.

“This situation has only become possible with the boom in the Chinese economy. It’s now up to us to use this new-found bargaining power wisely,” said Mr Kangai.

Zimbabwe must be inspired by the fact China has managed to develop its economy without adhering to IMF or World Bank economic models. The Chinese economic model in which the state is the major driver goes against the Western model where the private sector is at the centre of economic activities.

Zimbabwe thus finds the Chinese model amenable to its own home-grown policies, which came against a forgettable experience of the ravages of ESAP, implemented by Government at the behest of the Bretton Woods institutions.

And if the mega deals signed in China last week can be implemented within the spirit and letter of their noble aspirations, then Zimbabwe’s economic high noon is nigh.