Ranga Mataire — As a country aspiring to achieve lofty development aspirations by 2030, it is understandable for Zimbabwe to be seen actively participating at crucial indabas such as the Forum on Africa-China Co-operation (FOCAC) starting today in Beijing, China.
President Mnangagwa's attendance at FOCAC has been preceded by a State visit, in which he has so far been busy connecting with essential business entities including visiting Nanjing Military School, where he got his first military training.
Writing on his X handle, President Mnangagwa said the state visit "marked another chapter in Zimbabwe's robust partnership with China."
He stressed that he would use the state visit to engage with Chinese counterparts to further strengthen economic and political ties.
Reconnecting with Nanjing Military School is important for two reasons. It signifies the deep-rooted connection between the Zimbabwean leader and China- a country that was supportive of the country's fight for independence.
The second important reason for reconnecting with Nanjing is that the Zimbabwean leader is a product of a rigorous military training and discipline, which has imbued him with a sense of unflinching commitment to ensure his country not only gained political independence but also attain economic prosperity.
Reflecting on his stint at Nanjing Military School in 1964, the President said he was deeply thankful for the role this institution played in shaping Zimbabwe's fight for freedom.
Most importantly, President Mnangagwa's state visit has exemplified his understanding of soft-power as crucial bridge to enhancing relations between Zimbabwe and China.
Although FOCAC's focus is broadly about coming up with win-win strategies for enhancing trade and investments between China and the Africa continent, there is no doubt that President Mnangagwa's state visit has already laid the groundwork for critical areas of cooperation between Zimbabwe and the Asian giant.
Besides engagements in areas of security, politics and infrastructure, high on the agenda of the President's State visit was to tap into China's technological advances to leapfrog Zimbabwe's industrialisation and modernisation.
It was within the context of tapping into China's technological advances that saw President Mnangagwa visiting the Build Your Dream (BYD) Auto in Shenzhen, a leader in electric vehicle innovation.
The President discussed the potential of bringing the company's advanced green technology to Zimbabwe.
BYD is already established in Zimbabwe. It is a Fortune 500 listed company and a global leader in electric vehicles and the third largest automotive brand in the world based on market capitalisation.
At its headquarters in Shenzhen, President Mnangagwa toured its modern inventions, which include buses, trains, and sport utility vehicles.
Solar energy, economical electrified transportation, and dependable energy are some of the areas of expertise of BYD Zimbabwe.
The company offers cutting-edge and technology, sustainable transportation solutions, and is a global industry leader with top-notch goods and a stellar aftersales reputation.
BYD is also a manufacturer of lithium batteries and cells, offering items like battery boxes, in-home chargers, and the best tier 1 solar PV modules in the world.
So this was not just a window-shopping or a mere familiarisation tour for the President.
At Huawei, President Mnangagwa signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen digital transformation partnership.
This is a crucial agreement in stepping towards enhancing Zimbabwe's digital infrastructure and driving the country forward.
China is a crucial development partner for Zimbabwe in that in the course of just a few decades, the country has completed a journey that took developed countries several hundred years. China has apparently created two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
In 2021, China's GDP reached US$17.7 trillion, almost 1 700 times that of the early days, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global economy and contributing an estimated 25 percent to world economic growth.
In the first half of this year, China has bucked the trend and maintained 2.5 percent positive growth.
After 73 years of determination, China has completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects with over 800 million people out of poverty and set up the largest social security system covering 1.35 billion people, and the largest health care system covering nearly 1 billion people.
Under the strong stewardship of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with President Xi Jinping leading from the front, China has embarked on a new trajectory toward the second centenary goal of fully building a prodigious modern socialist country.
Rising from a poor and week country into the world's second largest economy, China has achieved the tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. But how has China achieved this tremendous development feat within such a short space of time?
First, China has always stayed committed to the path of independent and peaceful development.
China has what it calls socialism with Chinese characteristics, which confirms to the country's national conditions and the trend of times.
Second, China upholds firm leadership of the Communist Party of China.
The CPC's membership has expanded to over 95 million from just over 50 years when it was founded. The party has grown into the largest governing party in the world.
In 2021, over 91 percent of Chinese interviewed by Edelman, a top global public relations consultancy firm, said they trust the Chinese government's ideology and this has given the CPC a firm determination to lead and undertake self-reform.
Third, the development trajectory of China is people-centred and this has helped the country in achieving a well-rounded human development and common prosperity for all.
The model repudiates individual interests, power group or privileged stratum.
Fourth, China has always kept a global perspective and held high the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation and pursued an independent foreign policy of peace.
The country is forging a new kind of international relations and a community with a shared future of mankind.
Zimbabwe and China have always been good brothers and partners with a shared future and a long tradition of mutual assistance in times of need.
China strongly supported Zimbabwe's struggle for national independence. After independence, China has continued to support Zimbabwe including at international forums where it has voiced its concern about external forces interfering in Zimbabwe's internal affairs.
The highlight of China's support to Zimbabwe is when it vetoed the proposed resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe at the UN Security Council in 2008, which was the first time China exercised veto power at the Security Council for an African country.
China showed the same zest as a brotherly country by promptly mobilising resources and provide massive assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai and following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
Zimbabwe has always stood by China on all fronts and adheres to the One-China principle including firmly supporting China's efforts to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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The two countries have always worked jointly to oppose hegemony, power politics and unilateralism while upholding international fairness and justice.
The concretisation of Zimbabwe-China is evidence by the cooperation in the completion of such projects as the National Pharmaceutical Warehouse in Harare, the 1 000 borehole project and the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
The expansion of the Kariba South Hydro Power Station Expansion, the Hwange Thermal Power Station, Victoria Falls International Airport Upgrading, the expansion and upgrading of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and the NetOne broadband construction were all implemented with China's financing support.
The projects have immensely improved Zimbabwe's infrastructure and enhanced the people's livelihoods. The two countries' joint efforts have led to growth in bilateral trade.
In the first half of 2022, the bilateral trade volume reached US$973 million with an increase of 56,6 percent, of which China imported US$504 million from Zimbabwe and exported goods worth US$469 million to Zimbabwe, up 103 percent and 25,6 percent respectively.
Besides bilateral trade, the people to people exchanges in education and culture have also been expanding with cooperation of the two ruling political parties (Zanu PF and CPC).
What is unique about the two countries cooperation is the respect they have for each other with the development assisting having no political strings attachment or any coercive demands.
There can be no doubt that the development assistance and investments being rendered to Zimbabwe will contribute towards the national aspirational goal of an upper middle income society by 2030.
No amount of slander can deter the two countries from pursing mutually beneficial development initiatives.
