China accuses West of waging a “Cold War” against Zimbabwe

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has condemned western powers for imposing tough economic sanctions on Zimbabwe, accusing them of waging a “Cold War” against the struggling African state. 

Rounding up a five-nation tour of Africa, Mr Wang held talks with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare, where he called for western sanctions to be lifted and pledged to continue helping Zimbabwe to stabilise its economy. 

Zimbabwe has said it will submit funding proposals to Chinese authorities for at least half a dozen projects, but has given no further details.

The country has been under US and EU sanctions for over 20 years due to alleged human rights abuses. In a tweet, Zimbabwe’s deputy information minister, Energy Mutodi, described Mr Wang’s visit as a “slap in the face” for these countries. He added that Zimbabwe would give preference to Chinese business interests over any Western nation. 

During the presidency of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe adopted a ‘Look East’ policy, focussing diplomatic attentions on its ‘all weather’ friends China and Russia. China is now in the process of building a new parliament for Zimbabwe to the tune of $150m. It has also loaned Zimbabwe over $1bn to rehabilitate the Hwange coal power plant. 

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