How China is sharing its development and governance experience with Africa

The world’s second largest economy is bringing its insights to the continent as part of a joint pursuit of modernisation

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Chinese dancers welcome Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:00pm, 18 Sep 2024Updated: 11:17pm, 18 Sep 2024

The Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology in Harare stands tall as a symbol of China’s soft power. The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party school reopened last year after a China-funded refurbishment.

The school not only conducts training and seminars for ZANU-PF cadres, students and politicians, it also attracts regular visits by lecturers from China’s ruling Communist Party.

In December, the Chinese party donated 1,300 books to the school, covering China’s history, financial reforms and development, as well as foreign affairs and culture as part of deepening party-to-party exchanges.

The bonds between the two countries were forged decades ago. Zimbabwe was one of several African countries that received Chinese ideological and military support during their liberation struggles.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa – who took over from former leader Robert Mugabe after a coup in 2017 – was among those to undergo military training in China in the 1960s.

Zimbabwe continues to benefit from Chinese economic assistance, especially since the US and other Western countries imposed sanctions over the seizure of land from white farmers while Mugabe was in power.

As China-Africa ties have grown closer, Beijing has also stepped up training of the continent’s political elites and exchanges in governance as part of a joint pursuit of modernisation.