Zimbabwe: Zim, China Trade Soars

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 20 September 2007 09/21/2007

Bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and China soared to US$205 million during the first half of 2007, indicating the growing and deepening of economic co-operation between the two countries, an official said yesterday. Total trade between the two countries amounted to US$270 million in 2006, while China's imports from Zimbabwe stood at US$116 million in the first half of the year. Addressing a Press conference at his residence in the capital, the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Yuan Nangshen, said there was great potential for trade between the two countries to balloon. "The bilateral trade has been on a steady growth and economic co-operation is also deepening and expanding," the ambassador said. "China has become a major trading partner to Zimbabwe, second only to South Africa." Apart from being the biggest single buyer of Zimbabwean tobacco, China was also the largest investor in incremental investment to Zimbabwe. The diplomat said China was this year hoping to increase tobacco imports from Zimba-bwe from the current 13 200 tonnes. He said Zimbabwe produces high quality tobacco, which blends well with China's. The Asian country has about 55 tobacco processing factories. China has since extended a US$200 million credit facility to Zimbabwe in support of the agriculture sector under which tractors, among farming implements, have been delivered. "China can provide assistance in many areas including human resources, technology and even finance," he said. By strengthening the agriculture sector, which is the economy's backbone, productivity in Zimbabwe's economy would be enhanced, the ambassador said. He, however, said there was need for the two countries to further strengthen co-operation in agriculture, infrastructure development and the mining sector. China has become one of the country's biggest trading partners following the adoption by Government of the "Look East Policy" in 2003. Enditem