China is publicly handing out money and equipment to help fight the spread of coronavirus in Zimbabwe. But Beijing’s generosity has made some very wary.
Until now most in Zimbabwe have accepted that China’s aid and investment strategy in the country is usually tied to infrastructure development.
The partnership announced this week between the China Gezhouba Group and a Zimbabwean company to build a new coal-fired power station worth three billion US dollars fits much better into the business mould Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe business watchers have come to expect.
Critics call the new trend, replicated in several African countries, of shipping medical supplies and offering financial support for primary health care China’s “coronavirus diplomacy”.
“China has been extremely active in pushing out support to a host of countries needing assistance to tackle Covid-19,” Piers Pigou, southern Africa consultant with the International Crisis Group, tells RFI.
“It may well be expending more energy on profiling these contributions in the face of bad press relating to its responsibilities around managing and communicating around the initial stages of the pandemic.”
