China Eyes Bigger Investments in Zim

By Kudzaishe Chimonera

China and Zimbabwe are seeking to deepen their long-standing economic partnership with new areas of cooperation expected to focus on renewable energy, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure development.

This was revealed by China’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhou Ding following a courtesy call on Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

Speaking after the meeting, Ambassador Zhou described the discussions as wide-ranging and productive, centring on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

“We had a wonderful, profound discussion on how to improve our bilateral relations. We talked about trade and economic relations and we are very happy that in the past years we have achieved great achievements,” he said.

The ambassador said economic ties between Beijing and Harare continue to grow with trade between the two countries reaching unprecedented levels.

“The bilateral trade volume reached a record high, reaching US$4.4 billion,” Zhou said.

China remains one of Zimbabwe’s largest trading partners and investors with Chinese companies involved in a number of strategic sectors across the economy.

According to Zhou, Chinese investment has expanded steadily into industries including steel production, cement manufacturing, fertiliser production and renewable energy projects.

“We are also happy that Chinese investment here in Zimbabwe is growing steadily, covering areas from steel manufacturing, cement, fertiliser, to solar power and hydropower,” he said.

The ambassador added that the growing trade and investment relationship has contributed significantly to employment creation in Zimbabwe.

“Our investment and trade relations sustained more than one million jobs here in Zimbabwe. We feel very proud of our joint achievements,” he said.

Looking ahead, Zhou said both countries are exploring opportunities in emerging technologies and clean energy as part of efforts to modernise Zimbabwe’s economy.

“We want to further our relations, especially in the new energy area. We also talked about how to utilise AI technology to enhance Zimbabwe’s digital infrastructure,” he said.

The ambassador also stressed the importance of maintaining a business environment that encourages both domestic and foreign investment.

Describing Zimbabwe as a country with significant economic potential, Zhou said continued improvements in the investment climate would help attract capital from across the globe.

“Zimbabwe is a land of hope, a land of promise. We hope that Zimbabwe will continue to maintain its attractiveness in terms of its business environment,” he said.

He called for a transparent and predictable regulatory framework that would boost investor confidence.

“We hope to see a more fair, predictable, transparent and attractive business environment with which Zimbabwe can attract not just investment from China, but from regional countries, from other African countries and also from investors from all over the world,” Zhou said.

The ambassador reaffirmed the strong diplomatic ties between Harare and Beijing, expressing confidence that Zimbabwe would continue making progress towards achieving its national development targets under Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).

“As China and Zimbabwe maintain a very sound relationship, we are always in friendship. We hope that Zimbabwe can make more progress and more achievements in attaining its Vision 2030 and realise its goal of NDS2,” he said.

The meeting comes as Zimbabwe continues to seek increased foreign investment to drive industrialisation, infrastructure development and economic growth with China remaining one of the country’s key development and investment partners.