News / National
'Zim should not criticise Chinese' on behalf of US and Europe: Mutambara
16 Jun 2011 at 21:32hrs | Views
Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara on Wednesday told legislators that Zimbabweans should not criticise Chinese operations in the country on behalf of the Americans and the Europeans.
DPM Mutambara was responding to a question from Zaka West MP, Mr Festus Dumbu (MDC-T), who alleged that the Chinese were beating up their employees.
He asked if the Chinese had become "immune to the Zimbabwean law to the extent that to date we have never had any Chinese who have been arrested for assault or abuse of subordinates or employees?"
"You should not fight the Chinese on behalf of the Americans. You should not fight the Chinese on behalf of the Europeans.
"Most of the criticisms of the Chinese in Africa are initiated by their competitors from Europe and America. Africans are being used to do the bidding for them.
"As long as you are clever, as a nation you should be able to extract and unlock value from the relationship with China.
"What I am emphasising on is that China, in reality has 1,3 billion people. China has already overtaken Japan in terms of GDP. It will overtake the US in 2015. China is the future."
DPM Mutambara said what was important for Zimbabwe was to make sure it struck deals that were favourable to it.
"We should protect our interests but we cannot avoid the Chinese, they are part of the global economy. In future a global company that is not in China is no longer a global company.
"When the Chinese enter an economic sector like cotton, tobacco or wheat, they change the rules because of their huge scale volumes. So they will set a new environment.
"Let us not fight the Chinese, let us make sure we protect our industries and work with them. We need a win-win framework," he said.
DPM Mutambara added the Americans were themselves consolidating their relationship with China yet they don't want to see Zimbabwe establishing good relations with them.
"The most popular language in America is Mandarin. The Americans are sending their students to China to study Mandarin because they know as America, they cannot survive without China.
"We are saying let us learn from the imperial masters, the US and the Europeans who have understood that without China they cannot survive," he said.
DPM Mutambara said the Chinese would have to bring value to Zimbabwean products than exporting them.
"Let us not allow the Chinese to take raw chrome, raw iron, raw coal, raw platinum and diamonds to China.
"Why can we not work with them to process minerals in the country so that we can cut diamonds in Zimbabwe and sell jewellery, so that we can process our chrome so that they will take finished products . . . that is what we call beneficiation.
"We are saying let us determine the terms of reference between ourselves and China, that is one thing we need to do - beneficiation, value addition or move up the value chain with the Chinese and not allow them to take raw materials from this country for a song to China," DPM Mutambara said.
DPM Mutambara was responding to a question from Zaka West MP, Mr Festus Dumbu (MDC-T), who alleged that the Chinese were beating up their employees.
He asked if the Chinese had become "immune to the Zimbabwean law to the extent that to date we have never had any Chinese who have been arrested for assault or abuse of subordinates or employees?"
"You should not fight the Chinese on behalf of the Americans. You should not fight the Chinese on behalf of the Europeans.
"Most of the criticisms of the Chinese in Africa are initiated by their competitors from Europe and America. Africans are being used to do the bidding for them.
"As long as you are clever, as a nation you should be able to extract and unlock value from the relationship with China.
"What I am emphasising on is that China, in reality has 1,3 billion people. China has already overtaken Japan in terms of GDP. It will overtake the US in 2015. China is the future."
DPM Mutambara said what was important for Zimbabwe was to make sure it struck deals that were favourable to it.
"We should protect our interests but we cannot avoid the Chinese, they are part of the global economy. In future a global company that is not in China is no longer a global company.
"Let us not fight the Chinese, let us make sure we protect our industries and work with them. We need a win-win framework," he said.
DPM Mutambara added the Americans were themselves consolidating their relationship with China yet they don't want to see Zimbabwe establishing good relations with them.
"The most popular language in America is Mandarin. The Americans are sending their students to China to study Mandarin because they know as America, they cannot survive without China.
"We are saying let us learn from the imperial masters, the US and the Europeans who have understood that without China they cannot survive," he said.
DPM Mutambara said the Chinese would have to bring value to Zimbabwean products than exporting them.
"Let us not allow the Chinese to take raw chrome, raw iron, raw coal, raw platinum and diamonds to China.
"Why can we not work with them to process minerals in the country so that we can cut diamonds in Zimbabwe and sell jewellery, so that we can process our chrome so that they will take finished products . . . that is what we call beneficiation.
"We are saying let us determine the terms of reference between ourselves and China, that is one thing we need to do - beneficiation, value addition or move up the value chain with the Chinese and not allow them to take raw materials from this country for a song to China," DPM Mutambara said.
Source - TNZ
