By Beaven Dhliwayo,
Group Features Editor
China’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding urged African nations to pursue homegrown models of rural development, warning that modernisation should not be mistaken for Westernisation, as he pledged deeper agricultural cooperation between Harare and Beijing.
“China’s journey demonstrates that modernisation is not synonymous with Westernisation. Every nation, drawing on its history and conditions, can chart its course,” Zhou said at the second Harare Forum for Africa in Harare on Tuesday.
He praised Zimbabwe’s Rural Development 8.0 Initiative and Vision 2030 strategy, saying the southern African nation had “immense agricultural potential” that could be unlocked with technology, infrastructure, and market access.
“With abundant fertile land and hardworking people, Zimbabwe possesses immense agricultural potential,” he said.
China, which is marking 45 years of diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe this year, has expanded imports of Zimbabwean farm products such as tobacco and citrus, with avocados and blueberries set to enter the Chinese market.
Zhou said Beijing’s new zero-tariff policy for Zimbabwean exports would “further contribute to rural development” while programs such as borehole drilling, irrigation upgrades, and agricultural training continued to deliver “tangible results.”
“Let us work together to meet the needs of Zimbabwe’s rural development, tackle pressing challenges, and strengthen our enduring friendship through concrete, results-oriented initiatives,” added Zhou.
The Harare Forum, jointly steered by the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Centre (CZEC) with Chinese and Zimbabwean partners, has quickly become a flagship platform for dialogue on Africa’s development path.
Its inaugural edition in 2024, themed “Knowing the World Through Africa”, focused on cultural diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges, while this year’s second edition sharpened attention on rural modernisation, with an emphasis on youth-led solutions.
Held in both Harare and Victoria Falls, the Forum combined academic debate with practical field visits, including inspections of Chinese-backed agricultural projects in Shamva and Norton.
Organisers said the dual format was designed to embed learning in both policy discussion and grassroots realities, with the CZEC framing the Forum as a long-term bridge between Zimbabwe, China and the wider Global South.
Harare Africa Forum board member Napoleon Nyanhi said the Forum was also about highlighting creativity and innovation among young people.
“China’s rise has been powered in no small part by its young population’s creativity and work ethic.
Similarly, Zimbabwe boasts a youthful population; over 67 percent of Zimbabweans are under the age of 35, making youth the driving force of our nation’s socio-economic transformation,” he said.
He pointed to the new National Youth Empowerment Strategy for 2026–2030 as a blueprint for integrating young people into the formal economy through technology, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange.
“Anchored on economic empowerment, digital transformation, education, governance, and wellbeing, this strategy is designed to harness the demographic dividend and empower our young people as agents of Vision 2030,” Nyanhi said.
Deputy Minister for Youth Empowerment Development and Vocational Training, Kudakwashe Mupamhanga, added that deliberate investment in vocational training, innovation funds, and youth-led enterprises was driving rural industrialisation.
“This strategy ensures that no young Zimbabwean is left behind,” he said.
He noted that initiatives such as the Presidential Innovation Fund and Empower Bank were deliberately targeting youth-led enterprises.
“Our vision is to create a generation of globally competitive Zimbabwean youth who can thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while remaining rooted in our values of Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo — our nation is built by its people,” Mupamhanga said.
For both nations, rural development is now seen not only as an economic priority but also as a political imperative to ensure inclusive growth, with the Harare Forum for Africa – through the leadership of the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Centre – anchoring that vision.