Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Africa and China’s historical relationship has laid the foundations for long-term
cooperation which can be traced back to the continent’s push for independence
in the 1950s.
According to Zimbabwean Minister of information, Monica Mutswanga, China
played a pivotal role in providing military support to African national liberation
movements as well as providing guerrilla training.
“China armed African national liberation movements as well as provided guerrilla
training. It thus played a pivotal role in providing military support to the
Zimbabwe struggle, including ensuring that more than 75 percent of Zimbabwe’s
guerilla combatants and current army generals received military training either in
China or by Chinese Military instructors in Tanzania during the Chimurenga armed
struggle,” Mutswanga said.
She applauded China’s contribution to multilateralism, global peace and stability,
adding that China is also helping reorient international financial institutions
making them more inclusive and supportive of development.
“It recently availed its quota of IMF Special Drawing Rights to developing nations,
and this is commendable. At the same time, it is cancelling some of the African
concessionary debt, which gives countries indebted to it room to grow
sustainably.”
China has also played a pivotal role in the diplomatic arena standing with
Zimbabwe after it hit with Western sanctions in the early 2000s.
In 2018, relations between the two countries were elevated to a comprehensive
strategic partnership which showed an indication of the value of the relationship
between the two nations and a mutual desire to sustain it for many more years.
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