The Chinese Foreign Affairs minister, Wang Yi has arrived in the country for a three day visit. He was received by the Foreign Affairs and International Trade minister, Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Moyo at the RGM International airport Saturday evening.

The visit to Zimbabwe by the Chinese foreign affairs minister is part of a five-nation tour that will also take him to Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Burundi.

In Zimbabwe he is expected to hold discussions with his counterpart, minister Sibusiso Moyo as well as Retired General Constantino Chiwenga and President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Speaking in China as a precursor to the Chinese minister’s visit, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said the tour is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between China and Africa.

“Since 1991,Africa has been the destination for the Chinese Foreign Minister’s first overseas visit each year for 30 years in a row,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

“The continuation of this fine tradition once again speaks volumes about the high priority China consistently attaches to developing its ties with Africa as well as ever stronger China-Africa friendship.”
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the inception of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

According to Shuang, the Chinese foreign minister will seek to, “… implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and African leaders and jointly follow through on the outcomes of the (last) FOCAC Beijing Summit with a view to advancing China-Africa BRI cooperation, building on China-Africa traditional friendship and moving forward the bilateral ties between China and relevant African countries and China-Africa relations as a whole.”