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PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa heads to Beijing, China to attend the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) which runs from September 3-4 under the theme, “China and Africa: towards an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win co-operation”.

The meeting comes following the President’s inauguration last Sunday in the wake of a ruling by the Constitutional Court validating his victory in the July 30 harmonised elections. Focac is an official forum between China and all states in Africa (with the exception of the Kingdom of Eswatini). There have been two summits held to date, with the most recent having occurred from December 3-4, 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa where China pledged $60 billion in loans to Africa and 90 percent of it has been disbursed and processed.

The first summit was held in November 2006 in Beijing where China rolled out $5 billion worth of concessionary loans to Africa. As one of the “Eight Measures” for Sino-African relations, China announced the creation of the China-Africa Development Fund to further Chinese investment in Africa with US$1 billion of initial funding with its fund expected to grow to US$5 billion in the future.

China has been strengthening relations with Africa and as the world’s second largest economy, its foothold on the continent has increased over the years because of its insistence on mutually beneficial relationships. Its influence straddles across West, North, East and Southern Africa with investment worth billions of dollars in many African states. According to Chinese Customs Department, the volume of trade between China and Africa increased from US$11 billion in 2000 to US$170 billion in 2017.

This is significant and positions Africa as one of China’s key trade partners. Zimbabwe is among African states that have a strong and cordial relationship with Beijing. The ties date back to the liberation struggle when China assisted freedom fighters to fight the white settler regime. President Mnangagwa is one of the guerillas who were trained in China and his ascent to the highest office in the land puts the country in good stead to further deepen this friendship.

The President went on a State visit to China following Operation Restore Legacy in November last year and during that trip, Zimbabwe and China escalated their relationship to a more comprehensive and mutually beneficial strategic partnership. His participation at Focac where he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping and China National People’s Congress chairman, Mr Li Zhanshu, will further deepen relations and consolidate economic co-operation.

China is carrying out several projects in Zimbabwe among them the expansion of the Victoria Falls Airport, Robert Mugabe International Airport and the Batoka Power Project. It also successfully carried out the $533 million Kariba South Power Station Extension Project which added another 300 megawatts to the national grid, reducing Zimbabwe’s 600MW import bill. Sinohydro — a Chinese conglomerate — has also been contracted to carry out the $1,4 billion Hwange Power Station Units 7 and 8 expansion project.

If completed, the project will see Hwange Thermal Power Station, which at the moment has an installed capacity of 920 megawatts, contributing an additional 600MW to the national grid. President Mnangagwa, who heads to Beijing on the back of a fresh five-year mandate, is likely to push for more deals with China in other critical areas such as rail and road rehabilitation.

Speaking ahead of the President’s departure, Chinese Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Zhao Baogang, said: “Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is also invited and has accepted the invitation. He has just been inaugurated. On the sidelines of the meeting, on the afternoon of September 5, 2018, President Xi will hold bilateral discussions with him. On the evening of that same day, our chairman of the China National People’s Congress Mr Li Zhanshu will also hold bilateral meetings with him and hold a welcome banquet”.

We hail the strong bi-lateral relations that exist between Zimbabwe and China and hope the Focac summit will help to further strengthen these ties and result in increased trade and co-operation between the two countries.

Zimbabwe needs assistance in many areas coming as it does from decades of economic stagnation and China stands in good stead to help. President Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe is open for business and we urge Chinese businesses to set up shop in the country as there are many advantages to do so.

We also call on Zimbabwean businesses to take advantage of the strong ties between China and Harare to explore opportunities in the Asian economic giant. The whole world is looking East with China at the epicentre of the Asian economic boom and it would be disingenuous for any country to ignore the miracle that has been the economic revolution which unfolded in China.

The beauty of the Sino-Africa relations is that neither side seeks to impose its will on another but both want to develop a mutually beneficial relationship anchored on respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.