China renews call for Zimbabwe sanctions to be lifted
- Hampered by sanctions instituted nearly two decades ago, the southern African nation has been further hit by restrictions imposed to limit the coronavirus
- President Emmerson Mnangagwa thanks China, Russia and other African nations that have stood by Zimbabwe as ‘dependable pillars’
China has reiterated its support for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe at a time the African nation is struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Zimbabwe, which has reported 8,276 confirmed coronavirus cases and 237 deaths, has seen its economy take a hit, after authorities imposed restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. The International Monetary Fund projects the nation’s economy to contract by 10.4 per cent this year.
Wu Peng, the head of African affairs at China’s foreign ministry, said on Sunday that the “unbearable inflictions upon millions of Zimbabweans are devastating”.
“We strongly support the appeals for the unconditional lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe,” Wu said, the same day Zimbabweans demonstrated in the streets of Harare and other towns, seeking the end of sanctions that had been imposed almost two decades ago by the US and some European nations over human rights violations and a policy of seizing land from white farmers.
In Harare, the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Guo Shaochun, said that the sanctions had been aimed at “targeted individuals” but hurt the country and its people.
