"...China was the main supporter of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party in the 1970s when it waged an armed struggle to free the country from colonial rule, said Mugabe, adding that the ties between Harare and Beijing have since been ever-lasting...
Zimbabwe has been under sanctions by western countries, led by former colonial power Britain, for allegedly undermining democracy and human rights. Mugabe denies the charges, saying they were only a smoke screen for London's opposition to his government's seizure of farms from white farmers for black resettlement.....
Harare has come up with a "Look East" policy, centered around renewed, broader engagement with China and other Asian countries, which Mugabe said could be an alternative economic cooperation partner to the West which Zimbabwe had lost....
The major reason for Zimbabwe to value its ties with Asia is that Asia is home to the most population in the world, Mugabe said.
"China and India put together, plus other states there (in Asia), they amount to the largest percentage part of the (world) population," he said.
"And secondly, we said these were the friends we relied upon during the liberation struggle and they will not let us down," he added.
Mugabe chronicled China's assistance, in various forms, to his country over the years, declaring: "For Zimbabwe, going to China is going to our second home. We regard China as a part of us."
In the twenty-six years after Zimbabwe's independence, China has financed a variety of infrastructure projects in the country, including construction of roads, hospitals and stadiums.
Just last week, China extended a 5-million U.S.-dollar loan to Zimbabwe to refurbish the nation's biggest stadium, built several years ago by a Chinese company.
Mugabe also spoke of China's military assistance to Zimbabwe after its independence, which he said had made Zimbabwe less vulnerable to manipulation by the West.
But he said the main focus now would be economic cooperation, noting China recently offered Zimbabwe 200 million U.S. dollars to finance agricultural production in the country, and Zimbabwe's acquisition of three MA-60 passenger planes from China....
China, keen to secure strategic natural resources to help sustain its mouth-watering economic growth of more than 10 percent, is investing heavily in agriculture and mining in Zimbabwe. Chinese investment in Zimbabwe is estimated to be billions of dollars..."\
Ah, but someone should remind Mr. Mugabe "There is no such thing as a free lunch".
Chinese ties will have to bring back money or they will stop investing.
And someone should warn China that "if you feed and care for a dog, he will not bite the hand that feeds you; that is the difference between a dog and a man"...
Mugabe is trying to nationalize the mainly South African funded mines. If he will steal from his main support on that continent, why does China think they will be immune to having their businesses confiscated?
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