Sino-Zim co-operation undermines sanctions

17 Oct, 2021 - 00:10 0 Views
Sino-Zim co-operation undermines sanctions

The Sunday News

Vincent Gono, Features Editor
WHEN  America and the EU slapped Zimbabwe with sanctions in the aftermath of the millennium over the land reform tiff, the country decided to adopt the look east policy as a response to the bilateral conflictual relationship with the West.

The objective of the sanctions was to isolate the country and the thinking was that Zimbabwe would grope and whimper at the impulsive change of attitude by the West but that was not to be. The country moved to cultivate ties with countries in Asia such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan. This helped unlock opportunities for investment in various sectors of the economy such as energy, agriculture, infrastructure development, mining, transport and tourism among others.

The co-operation between China and Zimbabwe dating back to the pre-independence days was strengthened.
And as the economy of China grew from a developing country to the world’s second largest economy in a very short space of time, the Asian giant that had identified and shared a lot with other developing countries of the world started capitalising on African markets that had been taken for granted and at times bullied by the West.

Although China was not bursting at the seams with excess capital seeking foreign investment, it had a moral code of humility and sincerity against one of gangsterism that the west had over the years been exhibiting.

Most African countries that have existed as step-children of the West due to colonial ties started untying themselves from the imperial West and joining hands with the emerging powerhouse. They slowly followed the Chinese model of development that emphasises home grown solutions to national problems and a rethinking of the West’s exploitative relationship ensued. Africa got in the gear of decolonising herself from the hegemonic shackles of the former colonial powers.

This led to the conclusion of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) from where a number of initiatives were put in place for strengthening of ties between the then developing China and Africa. Concrete items of cooperation such as debt relief and human resource development were deliberated without delay and Uganda became the first beneficiary of China’s debt relief programme as a South-South cooperation and mutual assistance among developing countries.

It is worth pointing out here and now that the significant difference between China’s debt relief and that from the West and international financial institutions was that it was free from political conditions, broader in beneficiary coverage and simpler and quicker in ratification procedures.

China began making bold steps in filling the trade gap that the West was no longer sincerely exploiting and in 2020 it surpassed the US to become Africa’s trading partner. A paper on the Sino-African trade: A multi-layered appraisal reveals that Sino-African trade is now four times larger than that of US-Africa.

Although FOCAC remains in place, the ties between China and Zimbabwe have grown from strength to strength culminating in the two countries elevating bilateral relations to a long term comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2018.

From then China started implementing various flagship mega cooperation projects in Zimbabwe some of which are nearing completion. The various infrastructural projects have helped Zimbabwe ease the burden and effects of sanctions.

The country has therefore maintained the ‘friend of all and enemy of none’ stance in its Second Republic’s reengagement efforts with willing countries with President Mnangagwa saying the country should do everything in its power to ensure it develops in the face of choking sanctions.

China has been unwavering in its calls for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe and has been offering a hand on a number of developmental initiatives in the area of infrastructure development. Apart from the various infrastructure development projects that are a manifestation of the strong bilateral relations, the scope of cooperation between the two countries soared to new heights in the era of Covid-19 with China donating multiple batches of medical supplies.

The Chinese government also helped Zimbabwe procure more than 11 million doses of Sinopharm and Sinovac doses from China. This enabled the country to manage the virus and ranking high in the continent on its vaccination roll-out.

As far as infrastructure development is concerned, Zimbabwe has moved mountains courtesy of China. Major projects at various stages of completion are the US$1.5 billion Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion project that is being carried out by Sinohydro that is expected to add 600 watts to the national grid when complete, the US$153 million Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport expansion, and the US$100 million New Parliament Building.

The power project is part of Zimbabwe’s efforts to find sustainable solutions to its power challenges that are severely curtailing industrial growth and the economy at large. This also follows endurance of long hours of load shedding due to depressed generation capacity and limited ability to import power from regional neighbors.

Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun reaffirmed China’s commitment to completing several infrastructure projects that China is funding in Zimbabwe, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, adding Covid-19 cannot stop the pace of cooperation between China and Zimbabwe.

“With the completion of the Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion, Zimbabwe’s power self-sufficiency capacity will be greatly improved which is exactly what the country needs for its development and what practical cooperation should mean,” Guo said.

Another infrastructure development project that is being undertaken by China in Zimbabwe is the construction of the 33 000-sq-m complex in the village of Mount Hampden, 25km west of the capital Harare that will replace the 100-seat, colonial-era parliament building downtown, which the government considers too small for Zimbabwe’s 350 parliamentarians.

President Mnangagwa described the project as one that would catalyse a new Harare. The state-of-the-art parliament building comprising six-storey and two congress halls is the largest building to be funded by the Chinese government in a southern African country and is being constructed by China’s Shanghai Construction Group through a grant that was provided by the Chinese government.

The continued strengthening of ties between the two countries have coincided with the ease of doing business reforms and calls for aligning laws and policies inimical to the flow of capital are growing louder. Political analyst Dr Last Alfandika said the cooperation between China and Zimbabwe had busted sanctions and brought to naught the idea of isolating the country.

“In the agriculture sector which is the engine for socio-economic development, we have seen donations of tonnes of fertilizer and extension of loan facilities worth over US$300 m for procuring tractors for Zimbabwe to boost its agriculture development. Chinese companies like Tianze Tobacco, Debont Co. Ltd, Anhui State Farms and Wanjin Agricultural have been very active in Tobacco production with over 50% of our tobacco going to China every year,” said Dr Alfandika.

He however , urged policy consistency especially in the financial sector and the removal of red tape and bureaucratic bottlenecks in Zimbabwe to allow a smooth flow of capital between the two countries. Dr Alfandika also advised Zimbabwe to deal decisively with corruption as it was affecting its investment chances as investors do not usually want to throw their capital in corrupt economies.

“To enhance our competitiveness as a country we need policy consistency in the financial sector while also looking at its immigration laws and how they affect the ease of doing business,” he counselled.

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