Zimbabwean President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met respectively with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Harare last week to discuss the two countries’ growing economic relationship. Mugabe said in an official statement today “China’s relations with Africa are based on sincere friendship and equal treatment and China is more and more welcome in the continent. All African countries are ready to deepen traditional friendship, develop cooperation in all areas and strengthen coordination in international affairs with China.”
Mugabe said he appreciates China’s disinterested assistance to Zimbabwe’s economic and social development over the years, emphasizing Zimbabwe will remain committed to enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
Tsvangirai expressed satisfaction with the positive outcome achieved in bilateral cooperation in all areas, pointing out that China’s assistance to Zimbabwe has brought tangible benefits to Zimbabweans. He also hoped for more investment from Chinese companies.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai said the Zimbabwe people thank China for its support of Zimbabwe’s struggle for national liberation. They reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s adherence to the one-China policy. The Zimbabwean side looked forward to China keeping playing an important role in international affairs.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai also expressed hope for the early lifting of unfair sanctions on Zimbabwe by Western countries. Yang said against the background of the global financial crisis, the two political parties and three sides in Zimbabwe have been working together with one heart in pushing for economic and social development and yielded remarkable outcome, thus maintaining internal stability.
Yang indicated that all parties will continue to maintain dialogue and cooperation and will continue to call on relevant countries to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Yang said the profound traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe has withstood the tests of the time and fluctuating international situation. China appreciates Zimbabwe’s support on issues concerning China’s core interest and major concerns.
Recent years have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges and substantial progress of pragmatic cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, culture and education. Zimbabwe-related projects under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) are being implemented, allowing bilateral pragmatic cooperation on agriculture, infrastructure construction, humanities, education and tourism.
“It is an important part of China’s foreign policy as well as China’s long-term strategic choice to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries,” Yang said in an official statement. “China-Africa relations have made continuous progress based on the traditional friendship in recent years. China is ready to work with the African side in advancing their new type of strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation and cultural exchanges in a bid to promote world peace, stability and development as well as common development of China and Africa.”
On the same day, Yang also held talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart Simbarashe Mumbengegwi. Both sides also signed the economic and technological cooperation agreement and jointly attended the inauguration ceremony of China-aided demonstration center of agricultural technology in Zimbabwe.