China committed to supporting Zimbabwe's innovation-driven development

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe -- Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding said Wednesday China is committed to supporting Zimbabwe's innovation-driven development.

"As Zimbabwe's largest source of investment, China plays a key role in propelling Zimbabwe's economic and social progress which has laid a solid foundation for Zimbabwe's innovation-driven development," Zhou said at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) International Business Conference.

The conference was held on the sidelines of the 64th ZITF running under the theme "Innovation: the catalyst to industrialization and trade."

Exhibitors from more than 25 countries, including over 30 exhibitors from China, are participating in the five-day expo, which kicked off in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Zhou said China has financed and built a number of key infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe in the past years, adding that China's investments have strengthened Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector.

"Hundreds of Chinese companies are operating in Zimbabwe, generating tremendous forex income, tax revenue, and hundreds of thousands of job opportunities for Zimbabwe," said Zhou.

Zhou said the Chinese government highly values scientific and technological innovation and sees it as the primary productive force, adding China has created a sound innovation ecosystem and laid a solid foundation for innovation-driven development.

While strengthening its capacity for scientific and technological innovation, China has assisted Zimbabwe in innovation capacity building, Zhou said.

"Each year China invites hundreds of government officials, professionals in various areas and business leaders from Zimbabwe to China to attend capacity building programs," he said.

China is also committed to promoting innovation-driven development and common prosperity for the whole world, he added.

"In recent years, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative proposed by China, have effectively enhanced international cooperation and innovation-driven development," he noted.

Zimbabwe's Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said that innovation-driven development is the engine that can propel Zimbabwe's economy forward.

"As new industrial processes and groundbreaking technologies emerge, the transformation of trade also unfolds on a global scale. Innovation thus enables us to foster stronger trade relationships and to create new markets and opportunities for businesses everywhere," said Chiwenga.

Amon Murwira, minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, said the source of China's growth over the years is science, technology and innovation being applied to all facets of life.

"Zimbabwe being a strategic partner of China, we learn a lot from their pathway, but we also learn a lot from their practices because they are one of the largest single investors in this country," Murwira said, adding: "It is extremely important that we have this mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Zimbabwe.