SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP "HISTORIC"

The word “historic” is often thrown around needlessly.

Not so when the leader of the world’s second-largest economy, President Xi Jinping, makes a genuinely historic State visit to Zimbabwe.

President Xi arrives on Tuesday to herald what he himself has termed “a new high” in relations that will “deliver more benefits” for the people of the two countries.
His delegation of about 200 people will include Cabinet ministers and members of the Communist Party of China, amongst other officials.

Over and above this, a host of private sector players from various sectors will be in the wings to unlock fresh opportunities as well as give fresh impetus to mega Sino-Zimbabwe deals signed last year when President Mugabe made his State visit to China.

SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP  "HISTORIC"

And all this will be captured by scores of journalists from Zimbabwe, China and other countries. A new set of deals are set to be signed in areas such as infrastructure, energy, transport and agriculture.
In an interview on Friday, China’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Huang Ping said President Xi viewed his relationship with President Mugabe as “special.”

“President Xi regards Zimbabwe as special. The fact that Zimbabwe is one of the only two countries President Xi will visit during this trip to Africa demonstrates that he attaches great importance to China-Zimbabwe relations and has special feelings for the Zimbabwean people.
“Actually, when our two Heads of States met in Beijing in August last year and in Jakarta (Indonesia) in April this year, President Xi spoke very highly of the traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe and our current bilateral relations.”

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China Mr Paul Chikawa said a high-powered delegation would accompany President Xi to enhance implementation of existing agreements and to initiate new projects.
“In fact one of the most prominent people in the delegation will be the Chairman of the NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission). You will remember that the NDRC came into the country some time back, but this delegation will be strengthened through their chairman…

“In terms of the companies that are coming with the President, we have companies that are interested in the railway business, we also have companies in real estate, who are interested in housing and hotels, we also have companies interested in the energy and the textile sector.
“Over and above the China Export and Import Bank, we also have financial institutions that will be coming. One that I think will be of note is the ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.) I single it out because it is already present in Zimbabwe through their shareholding in Stanbic and it is one of the biggest banks in the world.”

Ambassador Chikawa said China – which has the highest foreign currency reserves in the world at US$3,8 trillion – was poised to increase investments in Zimbabwe.
“China is relocating some of its industries, where it has now lost the natural competitive edge. For instance, while 20 or 30 years ago it was cheaper to produce fabric or textiles in China, it is no longer the case.
“… but we in Zimbabwe can still do that competitively. Not only can we produce raw materials, but we can provide the labour.

“It is important to note that China has the highest foreign currency reserves of US$3,8 trillion in the world. China has been reconfiguring this foreign currency holding, some of it was in Treasury Bonds but now they want to invest it so that the rate of return is higher; so that is an opportunity for us.”
Ambassador Chikawa said President Xi’s visit justified the Look East Policy.
“For President Mugabe it’s a vindication. He has really espoused the Look East Policy from a long time ago and we have the Chinese President coming here. It also vindicates our Chinese friends, that they are sincere.
“President Xi is visiting Africa for the second time since getting into office and we are the first country of two to be visited on the second round. And that all this happening on the eve of the Focac meeting shows that our relations are sound.”

In a powerful message on his visit to Zimbabwe, President Xi said his mission would focus on ensuring that people benefited from his engagements with President Mugabe.
“I look forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with President Mugabe and friends from all sectors of Zimbabwe during my visit, with the aim of enhancing friendship between our two countries, exploring new opportunities and delivering benefits to our two peoples.”
He went on: “As one Zimbabwe idiom goes, ‘Chikuni chimwe hachikodzi sadza’. Chinese people also believe that “When everybody adds firewood, the flames will raise high’.”

President Xi’s visit has attracted huge interest from the international media. Last week, about 100 journalists reportedly arrived to cover President Xi’s two-day visit.
China’s National English Daily will run a special publication in Zimbabwe over the course of the engagements.
After this, Presidents Mugabe and Xi will attend the Forum on China Africa Co-operation Summit in South Africa.

The Focac Summit is only the second to be held in Africa in the 15-year history of the China-Africa convention.
Sino-Zimbabwe trade exceeded the US$1 billion mark over the last two years.
Since 2009, China has been Africa’s premier trading partner with volumes hitting US$220 billion and expectations are that it will reach US$400 billion by 2020.

Source : The Sunday Mail