China calls on end to Zimbabwe sanctions

Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, has called on the US and European Union to bring an end to the sanctions imposed on prominent figures and businesses in Zimbabwe.

On an official visit to the country, Mr Yi said the sanctions were not grounded in international law.

He said “The unilateral sanctions imposed by some countries and organisations on Zimbabwe have no basis in international law and they violate the legitimate development rights and interests of Zimbabwe”.

Mr Yi is currently on a five-country tour of Africa, and has already visited Egypt, Djibouti and Eritrea, before finishing the trip in Burundi.

Both the US and EU have maintained their position with regards to sanctions, saying there has not been enough progress in way of democratic and human rights reform.

Currently the US has imposed financial and travel restrictions on 85 high-ranking officials, including the President himself, Emmerson Mnangagwa, alongside a further 54 companies.

In October Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF called a public holiday so people could travel to the capital, Harare, to protest the sanctions.

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