By Mufaro Makubika

In 2005 the then President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, proclaimed in a speech that ‘We have turned east, where the sun rises, and given our back to the west, where the sun sets.’ The breakdown in relations with the West over the controversial land reform program, alleged human rights abuses and electoral fraud led Zimbabwe to seek new lines of credit, investment and markets from friendly nations in the East, mainly China.

In 2013 Xi Jinping the Chinese president announced a new trade corridor between China and its neighbours in the West including states in the Middle East and Africa. The initiative called the Belt and Road Action Plan (BRI) was a resurrection of the old Silk Road which had connected China and the West between the 2^nd and 15^th centuries through social, cultural and economic exchange.

The Belt and Road Action Plan was designed to encompass two routes, 1) Belt - land routes, and 2) Road - maritime routes. One of the main aims of the initiative is to find alternative and secure trade routes for China in the face of competition from the United States and its allies in the South China Sea. Secondly, the BRI was part of China’s monetary and fiscal response to the 2008 financial crises which saturated its markets. China is in effect seeking new markets for its companies and products outside of China. Lastly, it’s an effort for China to create economic growth for its provinces to compete with its costal regions. It’s also important to note that China’s rivalry with the United States is also a key element of the BRI; through it, China wants to create interdependence between participating nations and China’s economy which creates economic and political influence for China.

The relationship between China and Zimbabwe dates to the Ming Dynasty which in effect encompasses some aspects of the old silk road. Contemporary relations between the two states can be traced back to the 1960s when China provided military training and support to Zimbabwe in its fight against colonialism. Post Zimbabwe’s independence, the relationship between the two nations evolved with China providing support for Zimbabwe’s developing economy to embrace a more capitalist approach and avoid the problems that beset China in its development.

One aspect of the BRI involves China funding the development of infrastructure in participating nations to achieve the economic and political influence it wants to establish. In 2023, China officially gifted Zimbabwe a new parliament building at a cost of over 200 million dollars. Funded through a grant and opened in 2022, the new parliament building replaced the colonial Victorian era style building that had housed the Zimbabwe Parliament. This is in line with the 15 other parliaments China has built or redeveloped on the African continent. China’s gifts could be said to represent the antithesis of the intervention of colonial powers in Africa. This is in effect prestige diplomacy at play furthering the influence and interest of China in these states. As such, it can also be criticised as a ‘gift’ which is less about goodwill and more about increasing the interdependency between China and Zimbabwe and thus China’s power and influence.

In 2022, trade between China and Zimbabwe surged by nearly 30% compared to the previous year. Zimbabwe’s main exports to China were agricultural, metal and mineral goods. In turn China exported mainly machinery, transportation and some mineral goods to Zimbabwe. In line with global goals to combat climate change due greenhouse gases emissions, global demand for critical raw materials like lithium, vital for clean energy technologies, is at an all-time high with further anticipated  growth in demand. Zimbabwe has the largest lithium reserves in Africa which it has been mining for over 60 years and with efficient management Zimbabwe can supply 20% of the world’s lithium needs.  

Due to China’s past and ongoing relations with Zimbabwe, it has been able to benefit enormously in accessing Zimbabwe’s lithium reserves. China is widely acknowledged to own the biggest portfolio of lithium mining projects in Zimbabwe, with Chinese companies spending over a billion dollars on lithium mining projects in Zimbabwe so far. This reflects a significant aim of the BRI, new markets and resources, matching the outlook set out by the late President, Robert Mugabe’s Look East policy. 

Sanctions on Zimbabwe have cost it an estimated 42 billion dollars in lost revenue leaving it in need of investments which China has taken advantage off. There are over a 160 pending lithium investment applications from China compared to around five from the U.S. being currently considered by Zimbabwe. A recent debate in the UK House of Lords about the sanctions on Zimbabwe acknowledged the loss to the West in accessing this critical mineral. A win-win situation for China and its Belt and Road initiative.

Whether this situation is a win-win for Zimbabwe is debatable. Normative analysis of the relationship between China and Zimbabwe reveals realist relations between the two states. IR scholars have argued that Zimbabwe’s Look East policy in addition to China’s BRI initiative has led to deteriorating labour laws, increased mineral smuggling, environmental degradation due mineral extractions and inferior goods affecting local industries and consequently consumers. These scholars further asset that the relationship between China and Zimbabwe is not a positive sum one but a form of modern-day colonialism.

What is clear is that China’s BRI initiative has considerable opportunities to change the world as did the old silk road. What it is also important is that the relationship between China and participating nations needs reframing to achieve positive sum relations.