The past ten years have seen the continent of Africa emerge as a major hub of Chinese commercial activity. This is no less evident in the Republic of Zimbabwe. As in other African countries, China's forays into Zimbabwe are driven by the coincidence of Africa's need for foreign investment and development, with China's need for natural resources to fuel its booming economy.

Zimbabwe's situation

However, Zimbabwe's current economic and political isolation adds a further dimension to the equation. Due to persistent human rights violations, fraudulent elections, and the seizure of white-owned commercial farms, Zimbabwe has been blacklisted by most Western nations, and Bretton Woods institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Zimbabwe also left the Commonwealth of Nations in 2003. Partly as a result of this, Zimbabwe's economy came to a virtual standstill in 2008, with world record levels of hyperinflation, and an unprecedented collapse of key business sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, from which the nation is still yet to fully recover. However, the landlocked, southern African country remains abundant in natural resources, containing the world's second largest platinum reserves, and one of the biggest alluvial diamond deposits discovered in the past century.

Zimbabwe is looking East

In direct contrast to the USA and UK, China has a consistent policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. As a result, Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has pursued a heavily touted “Look East Policy” in order to attract investment that isn't stained with stigma of “Western Neo-colonialism”. Consequently, Chinese businesses are able to sidestep the strife that continues to plague Zimbabwe's troubled power-sharing agreement, which originally sought to heal wounds and sow seeds of national reconciliation between the Robert Mugabe-led ruling party ZANU-PF and the then- Opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The desperation of Zimbabwe's economic situation has enabled China to dictate the terms of trade and investment between the two countries. Chinese firms have been exempted from Zimbabwe's controversial Indigenisation Drive, which has forced all foreign-owned companies to transfer 51% of assets to local, Black Zimbabweans. The Chinese state-owned companies, such as Sino-Zimbabwe Ltd, and Anjin have entered into a joint venture to dig for gems in the controversial Marange diamond mines, with the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining and Development Company, and have been treated leniently when it comes to the treatment of local workers, and zoning regulations.

Questioning Chinese involvement

Many feel that the success of Chinese business activity is too heavily dependent on Zimbabwe's international isolation and economic desperation. Any slight change in this state of affairs could potentially re-open Zimbabwe to Western trade and investment, and there is a risk that this would move Chinese firms back to the periphery of commercial activity in the country. Chinese firms currently carry a great deal of favour with President Robert Mugabe, but at 87, his tenure in office is soon coming to an end, and whoever succeeds him may not be as receptive to Chinese investment. Such fears are accentuated by the fact that the impunity of certain Chinese actions in Zimbabwe, and China's alliance with a deeply unpopular President, maybe building a wall of resentment from Zimbabwean citizens. Many residents of Zimbabwe feel that they are not reaping the necessary benefits of Chinese investment in their country, and also sense that Chinese commercial activity is bankrolling their oppression. Chinese mining firms in particular are becoming infamous throughout Zimbabwe for their flouting of labour rights regulations, and their disregard for basic financial and sanitary requirements.

However, the Chinese Government is clearly aware of these concerns, which is why it is making initiatives to facilitate engagement with the MDC, and elements of Zimbabwean Civil Society, in addition to funding many infrastructure and maintenance projects throughout Zimbabwe. These are seeds of goodwill that are attempts to ensure that a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe will remain open to Chinese trade and investment. It is too soon to assess how successful these olive branches will be, but for the time being, Sino-Zimbabwean trade is proving tremendously lucrative for China, and is providing a crucial respite for Zimbabwe.
 

Related links
China's Rise in Power: World Public-Opinion Survey Reveals Four General Views
The Multi-Polarization of the Middle East: A New Opportunity for China
African Students Speak About Their Experiences in China

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: China investment in Africa Sino-Zimbabwe relations Chinese image in Africa China in Africa