Zimbabwean president praises Chinese support for boosting country's response to COVID-19

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has hailed China's continued support to Zimbabwe in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the material and technical assistance had bolstered the country's response to the pandemic.

"We remain most grateful for the assistance that continues to be extended to us by the Government of the People's Republic of China towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic."

"The regular sharing of information between the Government of the People's Republic of China and my Government has been invaluable," Mnangagwa said.

He was speaking during the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 through video link on Wednesday, held under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Mnangagwa said the medical supplies and personal protective equipment donated to Zimbabwe by China, as well as the recommendations by a visiting Chinese team of medical experts last month had bolstered the southern African country's strategies for prevention and control of the pandemic.

Zimbabwe has witnessed a spike in the number of imported cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks, driven mainly by residents who are returning from the Diaspora.

In light of this, Mnangagwa appealed for more assistance from China in the form of PCR test kits to scale up testing of returnees while focus is equally put on isolation, quarantine and contact tracing.

Mnangagwa said the pandemic will result in the contraction of the Gross Domestic Product of countries in southern Africa, and welcomed China's decision and commitment regarding debt service suspension for developing countries under the G20 initiative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during the summit on Wednesday that China will cancel the debt of relevant African countries in the form of interest-free government loans that are due to mature by the end of 2020 within the FOCAC framework.

"In addition, we sincerely appreciate the call by President Xi for the unconditional removal of all restrictive measures and economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and Sudan," Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa said there was scope for further strengthening cooperation between Zimbabwe and China under FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Going forward, through this same platform there is scope to explore other opportunities in research and development in public health issues, pharmaceutical and equipment production," he said.