Even though I was still a schoolboy in the 1970s, I remember vividly ping-pong diplomacy —the exchange of table tennis (ping-pong in Chinese) players between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
By Conway Tutani
This marked a thaw in frosty Sino-American relations, paving the way for US President Richard Nixon to visit Beijing and shake hands with Chairman Mao in February 1972. The rest is history. The bitterest ideological enemies had come together.
This does not just happen. Much preparatory work has to be done behind the scenes because much is at stake.
And so it was with Chinese President Xi Jinping coming to Harare on a two-day State visit with President Robert Mugabe out to show that he was the host with the most. People don’t come bigger than Xi. And big people don’t come calling every day. They are the busiest of people, thus have the tightest of schedules.
This, it must be said here and now, has been a mighty political coup for Zanu PF — whether one loves or hates the ruling party — especially after Xi gave Zimbabwe a wide berth during his last trip to the region. The snub — whether it’s perceived or real doesn’t matter at all in politics — was, naturally, much to the amusement of the opposition in view of Zanu PF’s much-vaunted “Look East” policy, where it has flaunted China as its best friend. How could your best friend visit your next-door neighbour without first coming to see you and just leave? Who could stop the opposition from enjoying itself? What else could the embarrassed Zanu PF do than keep its silence? Any student of international relations would have agreed with the opposition on that one that Zanu PF had lost face. Who could begrudge the opposition clocking political mileage on that?
Now that Xi has finally been here, the self-same opposition is saying — with a straight face — his visit is “inconsequential”. Any student of international relations will tell you that cannot be so. It is contradictory and disingenuous in view of their earlier celebrations when Xi skipped the country. Could it be now their turn to save face by belittling the State visit? Well, wriggling out of a situation is not beyond politicians, whether in Zanu PF or MDC-T.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Remember in April when Mugabe stereotyped Kalangas as criminals? That was bad enough. Some people rushed to say Mugabe had, by extension, besmirched the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo as Nkomo was also a Kalanga. Nkomo’s nephew Dumisani Nkomo then pointed out that the late VP was not a Kalanga (not that there is anything wrong about being one). But one person took it out on Dumisani, saying he shouldn’t have pointed that out because it had deprived them of political ammunition to fire at Mugabe. Let’s get away from political point-scoring on empty and false grounds. Let’s not hide the truth behind the truth to conceal the truth.
It’s now time for Zanu PF to enjoy — and in all fairness, you can’t begrudge them for that.
China notched an economic milestone last month, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adding the yuan to its elite basket of reserve currencies as the world’s No. 2 economy. This is, in part, a simple acknowledgment of China’s economic heft: The country now accounts for more than 15% of the global gross economic output, nearly triple what it was a decade ago.
According to The Wall Street Journal: “The [Chinese] government has ramped up lending to foreign governments, greatly expanded trade settled in yuan and created emergency credit facilities for other governments. Earlier this year, it launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an institution analysts say was designed in part to rival the Washington-based World Bank.”
If as little as a quarter of the deals signed by Xi are implemented, Zimbabwe would benefit immensely given the sub-zero state of the economy asphyxiated by deflation running at -3,2%, because even a dead cat will bounce if dropped from a high-enough point. Who does not see that the economy has bottomed out to below zero? Where we have fallen to, even soil to cover potholes, be it for days or mere minutes, will do.
But the Chinese, now among the world’s economic giants, are in a position to offer much more as long as Zanu PF plays ball. China has arrived on the scene. China is in an earned strong position to extend meaningful, substantive and sustainable aid, not mere gifts. This is in contrast to First Lady Grace Mugabe, who, according to Zanu PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere, had “Christmas boxes” for everyone at her rally in Matabeleland South this week despite the fact that her business empire is reportedly reeling under an unsustainable $20 million debt blamed on theft and mismanagement.
Make no mistake that the Chinese drive a hard bargain. They are strict in negotiating a transaction. The Chinese demand a lot or refuse to give much until they are satisfied when making an agreement with someone. They are now the world’s biggest creditor. The Chinese terms will force the Zanu PF government to save more and spend less as they are known for fiscal discipline themselves. They could be stricter than the much-maligned IMF.
It’s time to get past the past and past the fact that the Chinese and Zanu PF have been longstanding friends because modern China is not driven by ideology like in the days of Mao. They can do business with anyone irrespective of politics as they have shown that globally.
Let’s not take it out on China — even the “hated” British treat Xi like a king.
lConway Nkumbuzo Tutani is a Harare-based columnist. Email: [email protected]
