By Tichaona Zindoga CHINESE ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun set the pitch for his country’s engagement with Zimbabwe in an op-ed article published in The Herald on February 1.
The piece was important in many ways, although local media did little to highlight its salience, with the single follow-up article in a State weekly feeling obliged just to cut and paste whole quotes without nuance or interpretation.
First, the publication was a huge symbolic gesture as an address by the envoy on the Chinese New Year.
The Chinese New Year carries strong cultural significance and is a window to see the inner soul of Chinese people as they celebrate annually with their families and according to age-old tradition.
The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, which ushers in a new astrological period, also heralds changes in the political mood of Chinese people. This year, 2022, is the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese calendar.
To illustrate the above point, Guo’s article — which was in itself good poetry — declared that: “With the courage of a tiger, we will overcome all challenges and leap forward into a beautiful future.”
Guo’s article celebrated both the culture of China, and gave useful hints as to what to expect this year in terms of realpolitik.
He also took time to reflect on a number of highlights of the past year, as China played a significant part in global affairs.
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Among other issues, China played a key role in the fight against COVID-19 and made the commitment to provide COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good and supporting waiving intellectual property rights on vaccine research and development.
This resulted in China providing more than two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and international organisations.
China became the biggest provider of outbound vaccines among all countries.
Illustratively, one out of every two COVID-19 vaccines administered across the globe is made in China.
Guo stated that Chinese companies were now transferring technologies to developing countries with joint vaccine production having been launched with 20 countries.
“A priority in our international anti-pandemic co-operation has been to support Africa,” the ambassador wrote.
“China is the first to have come to Africa’s aid.”
This is a huge statement about China-Africa relations.
Zimbabwe also features prominently as not only one of the earliest and largest beneficiaries of Chinese aid but a co-operating partner.
Guo gave a masterful political statement in his article.
He characterised Zimbabwe as experiencing a “powerful combination of a servant leadership and a resilient people”.
This is an endorsement of the leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the people of Zimbabwe in general.
The envoy goes further to allude to China as a committed and “true friend”.
Apart from co-operating with Zimbabwe during the pandemic, China engaged Zimbabwe in a number of flagship projects such as the drilling of 1 000 boreholes, the new Parliament building, expansion of Hwange Power Station, and engineering works at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Global view Guo’s article largely mirrors China’s worldview and he meticulously demonstrated how Zimbabwe is fitting nicely within the global scheme of things, under China’s “global shared future” principle.
Zimbabwe is not being left behind, it is part of China’s plans for the world.
This is something important and encouraging because without the support of China, Zimbabwe would be a pariah, having been exposed by the West through sanctions and international ostracisation.
Zimbabwe came very nearly close to being invaded by Western forces in 2008, were it not for China and Russia’s double veto at the United Nations Security Council against intervention under the dubious “Right To Protect Principle”.
It was the same principle that was used, with disastrous consequences, in Libya a couple of years later.
China’s engagement with Zimbabwe is couched within global, continental and bilateral contexts.
Guo’s article demonstrates Zimbabwe’s inclusion in China’s Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) framework within which a number of policies and actions have been crafted.
Last December, the 8th Ministerial Meeting of Focac was held in Dakar, Senegal and out of it emerged a number of programmes and commitments to buttress relations between the two sides.
This means Zimbabwe will continue benefiting from its friendship with China under the umbrella of Focac.
The Ambassador’s article was a reassurance of this.
By exhorting Zimbabwe’s leadership and the people, Guo demonstrated that China’s engagement with the southern African country is dynamic.
The spirit of the Year of the Tiger (which symbolises bravery and strength in Chinese culture) is evidently inspiring China to do more and become bolder, as China acts its symbolic size as a big cat.
This gives us an interesting dimension.
Across the world, China has become bolder and more assertive as far as safeguarding its interests is concerned.
In Zimbabwe, events of the past few weeks have been instructive.
China has come strongly in support of its companies’ legitimate interests that have come under attack from Western-sponsored civil society organisations over baseless allegations as well as racist and xenophobic profiling of its citizens, including investors.
Meanwhile, China firmly supports bringing to book all those that are found on the wrong side of the law.
This contrasts sharply with the more stoic and self-effacing outlook that China previously assumed when it was attacked or threatened.
Of course, China is right to fight back against well-co-ordinated attacks sponsored by its enemies. It’s the spirit of the tiger!
What to expect in 2022 Anchored on strong principles, forthright philosophies of its leader President Xi and long-term plans, China has become predictable something that is very important against the backdrop of Western decline and erratic policies.
This attribute is rubbing off onto China’s bilateral relations.
The country’s envoy said: “China will continue to deepen its friendship with Zimbabwe and work for common development with Zimbabwe.”
This means that Zimbabwe and its ally will continue on a steady path of co-operation and friendship on a number of areas, some of which have been highlighted above.
Zimbabwe will continue to receive medical support from China until the war against the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
In 2022, the vaccines donated by China to Zimbabwe will count to 12 million doses.
It will continue receiving China’s FDI.
Zimbabwe and China will continue supporting each other on international forums and diplomatic questions.
The areas of co-operation are just too many to point out.
What is important, however, is that China has given its strongest assurance, and Guo’s powerful editorial sets the tone for good things to come this year.
- Tichaona Zindoga is a journalist, publisher and researcher. He was previously deputy and acting editor at The Herald, runs a media and think-tank organisation in Harare.
