Trade between Zimbabwe and China is expected to surge to half a billion US dollars by next year, Beijing’s ambassador to Harare was reported as saying on Monday.
Yuan Nansheng told a reception in the capital last week that trade between China and Zimbabwe was expected to hit $500-million in 2008 on the back of sound political ties that continue to exist between the two countries, Zimbabwe’s state news agency said.
”China has provided Zimbabwe with aid within her capacity for a long time,” New Ziana quoted Nansheng as saying. ”The steady growth in the economic field between our two countries aims for a win-win result to everyone’s benefit.”
China has become one of Zimbabwe’s closest allies and business partners in the last six years, since Western countries started to shun the Southern African nation over alleged human rights abuses.
Under President Robert Mugabe’s ambitious so-called ”Look East” policy, Zimbabwe is working on plans to export beef to Hong Kong and minerals such as platinum, nickel and copper to the growing Chinese market.
The Asian giant has already emerged as the largest single importer of Zimbabwe’s key export crop, tobacco, New Ziana said.
Last year China imported 12,4-million kilos of tobacco from Zimbabwe.
There are around 35 Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe at the moment, including brick-makers, and glass and cement manufacturers.
Figures for total bilateral trade between Beijing and Harare for 2006 have not yet been made available, but it is expected to exceed 2005’s figure of $280-million. Trade for the first eight months of the year reached $210-million, reports said. – Sapa-DPA