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Fungi Kwaramba in BEIJING, China

AFRICA and China must leverage on their large populations to scale up trade and economic cooperation that will lead to accelerated modernisation and economic growth, President Mnangagwa has said.

Speaking after the official opening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) here yesterday, President Mnangagwa, who is also the chairman of SADC, said the African continent must learn from countries like China that have been pacesetters in modernisation, by adopting existing approaches that fit to their national characteristics.

In his presentation at the High level meeting on “Increasing experience sharing on State Governance and Exploring Paths to Modernisation,” the President said platforms like FOCAC, that are based on equality of nations and respect for diversity, are critical to the development of Africa.

Africa and China are home to 2.9 billion people, accounting for a third of the world population, consequently providing ready inter-markets for countries of the Global South that have been excluded from the current world order.

“His Excellency, President Xi Jinping, highlighted that together, China and Africa present a population of about 2.8 billion. This strength in numbers is indeed beneficial in respect of markets and the stronger voice of the Global South. Most importantly, the Africa and China bloc provides an endless spring of shared ideas, knowledge, cultures, values, and principles for a better future for all.

“We need not reinvent the wheel. Through innovation, learning from the successes and hurdles faced by others, pitfalls can be avoided and momentum gained to speed up development, modernisation and industrialisation,” said the President.

He emphasised that Africa and China, which suffered from colonial rule and then emerged victorious, together, offer the world diverse civilisations, with distinctive governance experiences and capabilities which can help leap forward the quest for a stronger community for a shared future.

In a fast changing world, countries have become more interdependent and societies intricately linked, resulting in Multilateralism taking a new form.

“Hence, entrenching sustainable governance systems must be guided by defining country characteristics and unique identities. We must remain true to ourselves, guided by our distinct histories and cultures. As we engage within the comity of nations, diversity must be respected,” said President Mnangagwa.

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“It is reassuring that this is the spirit behind the Global Civilisation Initiative being championed by China, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Xi Jinping. In the case of Zimbabwe, our national development philosophy is that ‘a country must be built, prayed for and governed by its own citizens.

“Friends are welcome to help, but guided by national priorities and principles”.

In that regard, he explained how Zimbabwe has, looking inwardly, been able to harness its resources for development in spite of the unilateral and illegal economic sanctions that were imposed on the country by some Western countries.

These include ensuring food security, introducing science and technology-biased education, modernisation of rural areas through provision of water and electricity, modernising agriculture, and establishing an efficient public service among other game-changing interventions.

The President said while Zimbabwe has been looking inwardly for its development, it has been able to do so with the assistance of friendly countries like China.

“No country is immune from today’s complex challenges. Likewise, it is critically important that we continue to scale up collaboration and co-operation to tap into the immense opportunities presented by new technologies, diverse skills and global capital that exist in jurisdictions that have modernised ahead of us, such as China,” said President Mnangagwa.

“The prioritisation of value chain development in agriculture and mining sectors will help to speed up the development of modern industries in Africa.

“Each of our countries are indeed an integral part of the global community. Enduring solutions and strategies require collective efforts, unity and solidarity so that we turn our dreams of modernisation, industrialisation and sustainable development for a shared future, into a reality”.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa yesterday met the owners of Bikita Minerals, who announced a US$500m investment in a lithium smelter to be built in Masvingo, close to Lake Mutirikwi as the country walks the talk on minerals beneficitation and value addition.

Bikita Minerals, the largest lithium mine in Zimbabwe holding the biggest known deposits of lithium at 11 million tonnes, is owned by the Sinomine Resource Group of China.

The President also met TBEA Corporation Executive vice president Mr Shiying Liu. TBEA is a producer of power transformers and other electric products.