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Leroy Dzenga Features Writer

The recent visit by Chinese Foreign Minister, State Counsellor Wang Yi to five African countries was an eye-opener.

Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in frequency of visits by Chinese foreign ministers to African countries. This year, Botswana, Seychelles, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Nigeria received the visitation. The grouping of the countries is interesting.

Of the five countries visited, four are members of SADC, meaning that China’s focus is firmly in the region in 2021 and beyond. According to a review of the tour by Beijing, the visit achieved the purpose of deepening friendship, enhancing mutual trust, promoting cooperation and building consensus.

As a result of the tour, China will actively implement the outcomes of the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against Covid-19, continue to provide African countries with much-needed anti-epidemic supplies, send medical experts, establish a cooperation mechanism for Chinese hospitals to pair up with those in Africa.

They pledged to accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters, honour the pledge to turn Covid-19 vaccines into a global public good, and work together with other G20 members on debt service suspension for Africa.

China and Africa will strengthen Belt and Road Initiative cooperation and work on a framework to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), improve layout of investment in production capacity and enhance cooperation in scientific innovation to help Africa realise connectivity, industrialisation and leapfrog development and foster a China-Africa market.

China and Africa will work together for another successful Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit.

The African side spoke highly of progress in implementing outcomes reached at the Beijing Summit in 2018 and offered recommendations for forum-building and the next summit. Beijing has pledged to strengthen coordination on international and regional affairs, arguing that it is the international community’s shared responsibility to support Africa’s development and that Africa should become a stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major power rivalry.

Locating Zimbabwe’s place in Africa-China relations in 2021

Zimbabwe is a long standing friend of China, enjoying cordial relations. Last year, Zimbabwe was among the five countries visited by Mr Wang.

Looking at China’s focus in 2021, Zimbabwe is set to cement its place in China’s geopolitical interest in the region.

There are a number of areas in which the country is set to benefit, as dividends from the long-standing relationship the country has shared with the Asian giant.

The rapport between the two countries is already standing solidly.

Covid-19

The global pandemic is arguably the biggest geopolitical question in the world today. China is showing leadership by assisting the developing world to beat the pandemic, with a roll out of the vaccine set to be the decisive move against the unprecedented carnage.

Larger health cooperation such as provision of infrastructure under the concept of friendship hospitals as well as private facilities; twinning arrangements and staff exchanges will push the boundaries of cooperation. China will continue providing personal protective equipment and medicines.

Investment and Infrastructural Development

China is Zimbabwe’s biggest investor of infrastructure projects with the US$1,1 billion Hwange 7 and 8 power expansion project, the US$100 million New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden and the US$153 million Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport facelift being the major ones. Others relate to communication and water infrastructure. The country will need to speed cooperation projects under the framework of the FOCAC.

Bilateral trade and investment

Zimbabwe’s trade with China remains low, estimated to be about US$1,5 billion, on the back of tobacco exports to China, which has been the biggest buyer of Zimbabwe’s crop and funder of the production of the crop through contract farming.

Minerals such as gold, diamonds and chrome could lift trade volumes significantly up. On the other hand, Zimbabwe will require a policy environment that encourages more investment so that Chinese companies can pour capital while guaranteed security of their investment and profitability.

International cooperation

Zimbabwe and China enjoy strong ideological alignment on global affairs. FOCAC provides a larger and more comprehensive framework for working together between China and African countries. This year’s Focac meeting, slated for Senegal in October, will offer fresh perspectives and priorities in light of new challenges.

The year 2021 is the 20th year since the establishment of the platform. This year’s summit will focus on three priority areas of vaccine cooperation, economic recovery, and transformative development, according to Beijing.