The visit by the Chinese delegation headed by that country’s top diplomat, Mr Yang Jiechi has been described as a key opportunity to explore more areas of cooperation in light of several infrastructure development projects the Chinese government and companies are implementing in Zimbabwe.
Mr Yang’s visit, which saw him hold high-level engagements with President Emmerson Mnangagwa after being sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping, comes barely a week after a Chinese contractor completed the construction of the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
The majestic august house, constructed on a hill-top since November 2018, is completely furnished and now awaits commissioning.
Thanks to Zimbabwe’s cordial relations to China, legislators will now conduct business from a modern facility without the headaches of being overcrowded as is the case with the current parliament building.
This is not the only project that stands tall as confirmation of Zimbabwe’s relations with the Asian economic giant.
Currently, a Chinese company, Jiangsu International is undertaking a US$153 million expansion of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, a project which is expected to be completed this year.
A US$1,5 billion expansion of Hwange power station 7 and 8 is an investment that was undertaken by the Zimbabwe Power Company and Sino Hydro Corporation and will add 600 megawatts of power to the national grid.
The Manhize steel plant that will be the largest in Africa, and the Kariba dam refurbishment projects are also being implemented by Chinese companies on a government-to-government agreement.
Speaking just before the high-level engagement between President Mnangagwa and Mr Yang, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Fredrick Shava hailed China’s diplomatic stance and how it has pursued peaceful development.
“Zimbabwe applauds the peaceful development pursued by the Chinese government over the years, transforming it into the second largest economy in the World. Zimbabwe stands ready to draw lessons from the Chinese experience as we work towards vision 2030,” he noted.
The infrastructure development drive being pursued by the Second Republic in close cooperation with such partners as China is set to build a strong foundation for Zimbabwe to achieve an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
