China and the Republic of Zimbabwe: the main areas of cooperation.

Smirnova Ekaterina Borisovna Postgraduate Student, Department of Theory and History of International Relations, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 snow0191@gmail.com

China presents its foreign policy through an official government document – the White Paper of China. This document clearly states that there are guiding principles of China's foreign policy: assistance provided to other countries is characterized by equality, mutual benefit and the absence of any conditions ^[1].

China's policy towards Africa focuses mainly on two things: first, it is respect for the sovereignty of nations and non-interference in their internal and external affairs. Secondly, these are various aid packages that China allocates to the African continent in exchange for their support of the one-China policy. The concept of assistance includes nine branches: medical sphere, technical cooperation, budget support, humanitarian aid, volunteer programs, infrastructure construction, grants and scholarships to the local population, assistance in the agricultural sector and debt cancellation to the PRC ^[2].

According to the Chinese Government, the beginning of comprehensive assistance to Africa began during the period of its decolonization and the establishment of new bilateral relations since the early 1960s.

In this article, we will look at the main areas of cooperation between China and Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe and China often describe their ties as historically strong "all-weather" relations that have survived both good and difficult times. Bilateral relations between the two countries were established on April 18, 1980, the day Zimbabwe declared independence. Nevertheless, relations did not actively develop for almost two decades, this was due to China's internal changes with Deng Xiao Ping coming to power, as well as with the establishment of Zimbabwe as an independent state^[3]. A new impetus occurred in the early 2000s, when the Government and President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe adopted a policy of "Looking East".

The Government of Zimbabwe decided to adopt a new policy vector after the deterioration of relations with Western countries, especially with its former metropolis – Great Britain. The causes of the conflict were, firstly, land reform, which consisted in the forcible transfer of land from Europeans to the local population. Secondly, violence against the population and human rights violations were condemned during the election race in Zimbabwe in 2000 (parliamentary elections) and 2002 (presidential elections). The United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States accused the Mugabe government of violating human rights and imposed sanctions on the leadership of Zimbabwe, imposed an arms embargo on the West, and also reduced the issuance of grants and loans. This led to a serious economic crisis in Zimbabwe^[4].

Realizing that it is necessary to look for new partners, the Government of Zimbabwe in 2003 proclaimed a policy of "Looking to the East", implying a reorientation and intensification of political and economic relations with Asian countries. It is worth noting that the "Look to the East" policy was still more a principle than an official foreign policy concept, since it was not ratified by law ^[5].

Zimbabwe placed particular hope on China, as the Government of the African side was impressed by the position of non-interference of China in the internal affairs of partners, as well as a huge market for the sale of agricultural and raw materials. Beijing was interested in minerals such as gold, platinum, chromium, copper, nickel, cobalt, rare metals, bauxite, coal, uranium and precious stones, which can be used for the development of the industrial sector ^[5].

Thus, since the 2000s, trade between the two countries has been actively developing. In 2002, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $ 191 million, and already in 2013 amounted to $ 1.1 billion (US dollars are mentioned hereafter) ^[6]. It is worth noting that most of China's bilateral aid was related to the use of materials of Chinese origin, which contributed to the promotion of Chinese imports to Zimbabwe.

The expansion of bilateral economic relations was reflected in the increase in the number of Chinese firms from twenty-nine in 2005 to sixty-two in 2014, which was accompanied by an increase from 200 to 300 small Chinese companies [Ibid., p. 7]. China invested in at least 128 projects from 2000 to 2012. There was also a phenomenal increase in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in the period from 2009 to 2013, when it increased from $11 million to $602 million. While international financial institutions (IFIs) were cautious about financing development projects, Chinese investors became prominent, especially in the mining industry, energy, social infrastructure, information and communication technologies (ICT) ^{[6, p. 17]}. Examples of significant Chinese investments include about $670 million in the Kariba hydropower project, $1 billion in the Hwange thermal power plant project, as well as in the mining industry. By 2015, Zimbabwe had become one of the three main destinations of Chinese FDI in Africa.^[7]

Agricultural development has been another important sector that has seen growth and change since 2000, thanks to Chinese financing of small-scale farming. After an initial period of decline following a chaotic period of land reform, tobacco production in this sector expanded due to contract farms supported by the Chinese tobacco company Tian Ze ^[8].

Currently, China is the destination for more than half of Zimbabwe's tobacco exports, which amount to over 200 million kilograms per year.

It should also be noted that, according to some researchers, the government of Zimbabwe has constantly concluded opaque business and investment contracts with China, which mainly benefit the ruling elites, strengthening their power ^[9].

The majority of Zimbabweans believe that China has had a positive impact on the state of their domestic economy, while 31 percent believe that the impact of China has been negative ^[10].

To understand the foreign policy of the current Zimbabwean authorities, it must be said that after internal disagreements in the government of Robert Mugabe and his ex-Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a military coup took place on November 14, 2017, and mass demonstrations forced Robert Mugabe to resign as president of Zimbabwe.

This paved the way for November 24, 2017 Mnangagwa was sworn in as the future president of the African country. The elections were notable for the fact that for the first time in 16 years, the government allowed the EU and the US to observe pre-election events in the country ^[11], which can be interpreted as an initial sign of the resumption of negotiations with Western countries by the new administration in connection with the restrictions imposed in the early 2000s in the inaugural speech of President Mnangagwa in 2017. he stressed that the main engine of his administration will be the economic development of the country ^[12]. In the foreign policy agenda, he emphasized the attraction of foreign direct investment, exports, the creation of special economic zones, the formation of a program of repeated interaction with all countries of the world, the commitment to pay debts and an active interest in establishing new relations ^[13].

This is important because in the coming months, President Mnangagwa will begin a series of activities related to the expansion of Zimbabwe's foreign relations. It is noteworthy that his first trip outside Africa as head of state took place in April 2018, when he paid a state visit to Beijing, intending to meet with President Xi Jinping to express gratitude for all the support provided after the introduction of Western sanctions. In addition, Mnangagwa expressed interest in strengthening economic ties and investments with China, including participation in the "One Belt, One Road" initiative ^[14]. During this trip, the Governments of China and Zimbabwe agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership between the countries in the field of trade, investment, technology, telecommunications, infrastructure and people-to-people exchange. Similarly, President Xi Jinping called on "Western countries and organizations to improve relations with Zimbabwe as soon as possible" ^[15]. Moreover, it is worth saying that the Chinese administration does not seem to view the policy of re-engagement as a real competition with the United States or the European Union.

Thus, despite the change of government in Zimbabwe, Beijing remains a strategic partner of Harare, since many direct investments, loans and financial assistance were mainly intended for the most important sectors created by the current administration. For example, most of the grants are aimed at developing infrastructure for the production and supply of energy, while water supply and sanitation received the most significant amount of concessional loans. As for Chinese commercial loans, the most significant amount, estimated at $341,300,000, was provided to social infrastructure, such as the restoration of an aging water treatment and distribution system in Zimbabwe, the modernization of Victoria Falls Airport and the expansion of the state-owned NetOne mobile network. ^{[16, p. 7]} Agriculture and healthcare are the second and third sectors that received the largest volume of loans, respectively. ^[17]

In fact, in 2017-2019, new Chinese grants, loans and investments were provided to Zimbabwe, which contributed to the strengthening of these bilateral relations. For example, China has allocated $47,058,000 in grants. the sectors of health, agriculture, government and emergency response, as well as provided preferential loans for transport totaling $ 153 million. As for foreign direct investment, a large Chinese manufacturing company for the production of ceramics has been established in Zimbabwe since 2018 ^{[16, p.7]}.

In addition, in 2019, new and large direct investments were made in the construction of hydroelectric power plants, which are intended to expand treatment facilities, modernize and restore distribution networks, especially in eleven suburbs with a high population density, as well as for the construction of new pumps for water in reservoirs, the implementation of water supply and sanitation projects ^[18].

All of the above is consistent with the official speeches of the governments of China and Zimbabwe about the interest of both countries in continuing bilateral economic cooperation in areas of common benefit, and means that relations between the PRC and the administration of Robert Mugabe were focused not on the benefit of the Zimbabwean ruling elite, but on the needs and priority sectors of national development^[19].

In conclusion, we can say that relations between the two countries are stable, despite the expansion of Zimbabwe's interests towards the West. For Zimbabwe, bilateral relations with China are of great importance in the field of national economy.

Moreover, as China remains a major foreign direct investor in Zimbabwe, the administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is likely to continue to strengthen relations with the PRC in order to attract more Chinese direct investment into the country. If we take statistics, Zimbabwe is among the 10 countries in terms of Chinese FDI on the African continent ^[20]. Even if the government tries to restore relations with the West as part of its national economic development strategy, this does not mean that Harare intends to distance itself from Beijing, which has established itself as a strategic, political and economic partner for more than forty years. There are signs that relations between China and Zimbabwe are developing and strengthening more than in previous years under the administration of Robert Mugabe. At the same time, the data show that the Chinese government does not consider Zimbabwe's policy of resuming cooperation with Western countries as a real competition with the United States or the European Union, since the economic presence of China and the West in Harare is concentrated in different areas. For example, U.S. aid has mainly focused on the health sector and democracy, human rights and governance, as well as other grants provided for humanitarian aid, economic development, education, peace and security, and the environment. On the contrary, Chinese grants are allocated for the development of infrastructure for the production and supply of energy, and water supply and sanitation have received significant amounts of concessional loans. In addition, Chinese FDI is focused on energy production and supply, mainly on hydropower infrastructure, mining, heavy industry and agriculture.