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Ambassador Guo Shaochun
Special Correspondent
2020 is like none other. All the imaginable difficulties, irreversible damages, and lasting trauma caused by a global pandemic makes us eager to turn the page.

But for the friendship between China and Zimbabwe, the year has been rewarding. In the face of adversity, our commitment to each other did not waver, but only grew stronger, offering us a critical line of defence against the odds of Covid-19.

Friendship vows renewed

China-Zimbabwe relationship got off to a powerful start with the January visit by China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was following China’s 30-year diplomatic tradition of the foreign minister visiting Africa to begin the new year’s travel trail. His visit consolidated mutual trust at the highest levels, reaffirmed our commitment to mutual support, and opened up new prospects for our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

This momentum received another great boost in April on the 40th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. On the same day when Zimbabwe was marking its 40 years of independence, we looked back with awe at how the great men and women before us fought together to free Zimbabwe from its colonial rulers and built a new life for millions.

On the momentous occasion, our top leadership exchanged congratulatory messages, vowing to further cement the partnership between our two countries and continue to support and assist each other as we work for a better life.

We remained by each other’s side on issues close to our heart.

Together, we spoke out against unilateral, illegal sanctions, called on bigger nations to stop hectoring smaller ones, and stood up for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In one voice, we urged democracy and fairness in international relations and upheld the interests of developing countries.

Unbreakable solidarity in face of Covid-19

Covid-19 is our common challenge. The war against the virus was first declared in China. The Chinese people banded together under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping to tackle the pandemic. At the height of our fight, the Zimbabwean government and people extended valuable support to China, to which we are deeply grateful.

From State leaders to ordinary citizens, we continuously encouraged each other in this hard and long fight, especially when many others were questioning whether we could make it.

China is proud to have helped Zimbabwe become the first among southern African countries to have testing kits in place so that the arrival of the virus could be detected at the earliest time possible. This was followed by a steady stream of ventilators, masks, goggles, protective suits, and many other medical supplies coming from China. According to incomplete figures, a total of 1,69 million masks, more than 51 000 testing kits, 131 ventilators and oxygenerators, and 141 000 pieces of other equipment and PPEs have been donated by Chinese governments at different levels, private sectors and ordinary well-wishers.

In May, a team consisting of 12 top Chinese medical experts arrived in Zimbabwe. During the 15-day visit, they shared knowledge and experience in fighting Covid-19 with their counterparts across the country. They brought not only medical expertise, but also the love and care of the Chinese government and people.

In September, the 18th batch of Chinese medical team travelled thousands of miles to Zimbabwe. Taking over from their predecessors, the ten members of the team have been fighting diseases and saving lives like soldiers on the front line from the first day of their arrival. Working side by side with their Zimbabwean colleagues like brothers, they have been sharing medical skills and experience.

Following President Xi’s call, the Parirenyatwa Hospital has joined a paring scheme with a Chinese hospital, which will facilitate more capacity building support from China in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. With the help of the local Chinese community, the Wilkins Hospital, the first designated Covid-19 hospital in Zimbabwe, was spruced up and ready to work before the full outbreak.

These collaborations demonstrate our mutual desire to promote a China-Africa community with a shared future. We stand ready to continue our cooperation with Zimbabwe to contribute to the eventual victory over the pandemic.

Non-stop economic cooperation

Our economic partnership became even more critical in 2020 as a prolonged fight against the pandemic requires a resilient economy. Making sure our existing cooperation is not derailed by Covid-19 is a promise China made and kept.

The good progress at the projects financed by Chinese grants — the New Parliament Building, the pharmaceutical warehouse, and the 500-borehole drilling — and other flagship projects, such as the Hwange thermal power station expansion and Robert Mugabe International airport expansion, is very reassuring in these difficult times.

We turned challenges into new opportunities for private sector initiatives. Chinese investors opened a factory here to produce facial masks, creating jobs and contributing to the country’s goal of growing the secondary sectors.

Chinese firms teamed up with a local private medical institution to establish a state-of-the-art Covid-19 treatment centre. In the meantime, we continued to look for ways to boost Zimbabwe’s agricultural export to China.

Standing with the people

When the pandemic was at its peak in China, the Chinese government and universities took good care of Zimbabwean students in China like our own children. We are happy to have ensured zero infection among these students and facilitated the journey home for 100 Zimbabwean students.

We remain deeply involved to support the vulnerable in Zimbabwe under the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund together with the WFP, UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA. Over the year, China donated 5 300 tonnes of rice, 945  tonnes of pulse, and 472,47 tonnes of vegetable oil, meeting the basic nutrition need of over 250 000 people. We repaired housing units, schools, clinics in Chimanimani and Chipinge that suffered from Cyclone Idai, benefiting around 230 households, 22 schools and supporting 10 units and shelters for 10 community markets and centres in these two areas.

We provided medical and health services for the population affected by the cyclone which would benefit up to 270,000 people. Our programme on maternal care and the health of newborns and children will cover about 37 970 beneficiaries in Mashonaland Central and 18 160 in South Matabeleland.

The local Chinese community, together with the Embassy, regularly brought food hampers and medical supplies to local orphanages, schools and children living the disabilities. With funding from China’s Anhui Province, over 2 000 students in Chimanimani now enjoy solar-powered facilities.

We believe hard times should not put dreams on hold. Chinese government scholarships were extended to 33 Zimbabwean students in 2020. The Dream Star competition funded by the Embassy continued to hold its seventh edition, albeit online, to give Zimbabwean talents a chance to shine.

Pulling together, China and Zimbabwe have completed a remarkable 2020 in the most unfavourable environment. This inspires us to press ahead and score more victories in the coming new year.

In 2021, the eight major initiatives China proposed at the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018 will enter the final stage of implementation. In response to the pandemic, the last leg of our work will be adjusted to focus on cooperation in healthcare, economic recovery, and livelihood protection. We will continue to help Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe revive their vigour as soon as possible, ensure the steady progress of projects funded by China, bring more Chinese investors to Zimbabwe, and find more ways, including under the AfCFTA framework, to lift bilateral trade.

Next year will mark a new beginning for FOCAC with another Summit on the calender. As part of the wider picture, China-Zimbabwe cooperation will embrace a greater momentum. We look forward to dovetailing China’s 14th five-year plan with Zimbabwe’s NDS1 to advance cooperation in industrialisation, extending Zimbabwe’s value chains and advancing urbanisation.

Covid-19 may have opened the Pandora’s box for us; but China and Zimbabwe stood tall together amid all the troubles it unleashed. I have no doubt we will soon embrace hope.

Guo Shaochun is Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe