News / National
Zimbabwe detractors target Chinese investors
19 Jun 2023 at 01:42hrs | Views
AHEAD of this year's elections, the country's detractors are now targeting the biggest investors in Zimbabwe, the Chinese, with a view to causing friction between the two countries and forcing the multilaterals out.
In the past few years, Chinese companies have been setting shop in Zimbabwe, creating jobs and putting the country back on the world map, much to the chagrin of detractors.
Over the past few months, Zimbabwe's currency has been under attack from the country's detractors who seek to make the people suffer so that they turn against the Zanu-PF Government, especially ahead of the elections, and now the focus has been turned to China, the second biggest economy in the world after the United States, which is the number one investor in Zimbabwe.
China has proved to be an all-weather friend for Zimbabwe as it has filled the gap left by Western nations helping Zimbabwe bust sanctions that were imposed by Western countries as punishment for the land reform programme at the turn of the millennium.
Recently, Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa told a Forum on Global Human Rights Governance that was held in China that Zimbabwe owes its development to the Asian economic giant.
"Zimbabwe possesses a strong and bold national state machinery inherited from the war. As of year 2000, we relied on it to recover our land from the white racist colonial settler minority.
"The West was offended by this act of the just restitution of our natural resources. American, British and Western retribution was immediate, prompt and ruthless and we have suffered punitive sanctions since 2022. Only Cuba has been so penalised longer.
"Delegates will be relieved and delighted, we are still standing. Actually we are now thriving. We thank China for helping us withstand and now defy the wrath of the West. Access to Chinese capital markets has been our rescue from the clutches," said Mutsvangwa.
He cited China's contribution to the growth of the country's tobacco industry, which recently achieved the highest yields in the country's history, investments in the iron and steel production sector, like the Manhize Steel project that is expected to vault Zimbabwe to be a major carbon steel producer as number one in Africa, and the massive investments in lithium.
All this has unsettled the Western countries that are determined to cripple Zimbabwe's economic development, especially after the country registered economic growth.
"Today Zimbabwe presents a case study of how consistent and concerted co-operation with China continues to chart ever new vistas of prosperity for our people. The Global Security Initiative as well as the Belt and Road Initiative spell out a vision of a shared safety and development agenda among nations," said Amb Mutsvangwa.
Zimbabwe has 427 licenced Chinese companies in various sectors of the economy, making it the biggest source of foreign direct investment in the country.
Of those, 228 are in the mining sector, 95 in manufacturing, 57 in the services sector while construction has 15 with the rest shared between, transport, energy, agriculture and tourism.
In the past few years, Chinese companies have been setting shop in Zimbabwe, creating jobs and putting the country back on the world map, much to the chagrin of detractors.
Over the past few months, Zimbabwe's currency has been under attack from the country's detractors who seek to make the people suffer so that they turn against the Zanu-PF Government, especially ahead of the elections, and now the focus has been turned to China, the second biggest economy in the world after the United States, which is the number one investor in Zimbabwe.
China has proved to be an all-weather friend for Zimbabwe as it has filled the gap left by Western nations helping Zimbabwe bust sanctions that were imposed by Western countries as punishment for the land reform programme at the turn of the millennium.
Recently, Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa told a Forum on Global Human Rights Governance that was held in China that Zimbabwe owes its development to the Asian economic giant.
"Zimbabwe possesses a strong and bold national state machinery inherited from the war. As of year 2000, we relied on it to recover our land from the white racist colonial settler minority.
"Delegates will be relieved and delighted, we are still standing. Actually we are now thriving. We thank China for helping us withstand and now defy the wrath of the West. Access to Chinese capital markets has been our rescue from the clutches," said Mutsvangwa.
He cited China's contribution to the growth of the country's tobacco industry, which recently achieved the highest yields in the country's history, investments in the iron and steel production sector, like the Manhize Steel project that is expected to vault Zimbabwe to be a major carbon steel producer as number one in Africa, and the massive investments in lithium.
All this has unsettled the Western countries that are determined to cripple Zimbabwe's economic development, especially after the country registered economic growth.
"Today Zimbabwe presents a case study of how consistent and concerted co-operation with China continues to chart ever new vistas of prosperity for our people. The Global Security Initiative as well as the Belt and Road Initiative spell out a vision of a shared safety and development agenda among nations," said Amb Mutsvangwa.
Zimbabwe has 427 licenced Chinese companies in various sectors of the economy, making it the biggest source of foreign direct investment in the country.
Of those, 228 are in the mining sector, 95 in manufacturing, 57 in the services sector while construction has 15 with the rest shared between, transport, energy, agriculture and tourism.
Source - The Herald
