Zimbabwe and China continue to strengthen their long-standing economic partnership, with Chinese investments in the country now exceeding US$10 billion and supporting more than one million livelihoods across key sectors of the economy.
China remains Zimbabwe’s largest investment and trading partner, with growing cooperation spanning mining, manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy and agriculture. The expanding relationship was recently highlighted during an investment engagement involving officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and a delegation of Chinese business investors, where opportunities to enhance trade and investment were explored.
The meeting underscored the commitment of both nations to deepen economic collaboration and unlock new opportunities for businesses and investors.
Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mangaliso Ndlovu, commended the commitment demonstrated by Chinese investors and reaffirmed Government’s commitment to creating a conducive investment environment.
“We are impressed by the level of commitment that has been shown by our all-weather friends in developing this country. We will continue to engage them in all spheres of the economy. We have adopted the ease of doing business mantra as part of our development trajectory, and the Chinese have proved to be handy for our dream to become a reality,” said Minister Ndlovu.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhou Ding, said the strong bilateral ties are yielding tangible benefits for both countries, particularly following China’s decision to remove tariffs on imports from Zimbabwe.
“We are happy with the level of cooperation we are having with the Republic of Zimbabwe. Our investments are in excess of US$10 billion. We are happy that trade is on an upward trajectory since we removed tax on all imports from Zimbabwe. This shows that our relationships are mutual as we begin to see more Zimbabwean products entering the Chinese markets,” said Ambassador Zhou.
The Ambassador noted that China is eager to create additional opportunities for Zimbabwean companies through increased market access and value-addition initiatives, enabling local businesses to benefit more from international trade.
Chinese investors have established a substantial footprint in Zimbabwe, particularly in the mining and manufacturing sectors, where they have contributed to industrialisation, job creation and technology transfer.
As Zimbabwe pursues its vision 2030 agenda of becoming an upper-middle-income economy, the growing partnership with China is expected to play an increasingly important role in driving investment, expanding export markets and accelerating economic growth.
