Zimbabwean voices on China and the world

Editor's note: Monica Cheru is the managing editor at Zim Now. The article reflects the authors' opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

As Zimbabwe and China mark 45 years of diplomatic relations, the winning essays from the "45 Years On: My Views on China-Zimbabwe Friendship" competition offer insightful perspectives on their bilateral relations.

They show how Zimbabweans, especially younger voices, perceive power, development, and survival in a rapidly shifting global order.

They are stories of reflection, pragmatism, and, in places, pushback against how Africa is often told to see the world.

Natasha Machaya: History as strategy, not nostalgia

Machaya's winning essay anchors the China–Zimbabwe relationship in shared history—but not in sentimentality. Liberation-era solidarity is presented as a strategic memory rather than as an emotional attachment.

More than two decades after Zimbabwe was subject to Western sanctions, China has steadily expanded its presence. Since 2000, China has become Zimbabwe’s largest source of foreign direct investment, with cumulative investment estimated at US$4-5 billion, according to government and ZIDA figures.

Machaya's argument reflects a wider Global South view: partners who stand with you when options are limited matter more as geopolitics tightens.

Michael-Angelo Kunashe Magadza: Development without apology

Magadza strips away ideology and focuses on outcomes, including roads, energy, skills, and production. The framing fits Zimbabwe's reality. Chinese firms are involved in:

· Over 70 percent of Zimbabwe's large-scale infrastructure projects in the past decade

· Power generation, including the Kariba upgrade and Hwange 7 & 8 (600 MW expansion), as well as smaller projects such as the Nyabira solar plant.

· Major mining investments in lithium, chrome and coal

Globally, his argument mirrors a trend: results-driven development is the way forward, especially as Western aid budgets shrink and conditional lending faces backlash across Africa.

Lodwin Gatsi: Where the relationship actually lives

Gatsi shifts attention away from megadeals to people—students, language, culture, and daily interactions.

The numbers back this up:

· More than 4,000 Zimbabwean students have studied in China over the past two decades.

· Mandarin is now taught at several universities and schools in Zimbabwe

· Small-scale traders and suppliers increasingly interface directly with their Chinese counterparts

This is the quiet layer of diplomacy—less visible yet often more durable.

Robert Chirima: Sovereignty in a sanctions world

Chirima's essay hits a nerve Zimbabweans know well: who shows up when you are isolated.

In a world where sanctions are routinely imposed, from Russia and Venezuela to parts of Africa, China's policy of non-interference remains appealing to governments that feel politically targeted.

That stance explains why Zimbabwe continues to deepen ties with China even as relations with the West have thawed somewhat.

Inzwirashe Chauke: The future, not the flag-waving

Chauke draws parallels between China's development path and Zimbabwe's ambitions, challenging the idea that success must follow a Western script.

Globally, this thinking is gaining traction as countries revisit state-led industrial policy, once dismissed but now openly embraced, even in Europe and the US.

Rejoice Govera: The hard questions

Govera brings gender and inclusion into the conversation—asking who really benefits from cooperation.

It's a timely question. While Chinese projects create jobs, concerns persist regarding labor conditions, skills transfer, and local participation. Her essay subtly reminds policymakers that legitimacy today is social, not just economic.

Rangarirai Joseph Dumbuka: Time for the present, not the past

Dumbuka's focus is youth, not as spectators but as drivers.

With over 60 percent of Zimbabwe's population under 30, the future of China-Zimbabwe relations will be shaped less by liberation-era memories and more by jobs, technology, mobility, and opportunity.

Clive Chiridza and Shepherd Gudyani: Balancing the equation

Chiridza cuts through sentiment and calls the relationship what it is: mutual interest. In today's multipolar world, honesty may be its greatest asset.

Gudyani places China-Zimbabwe ties in a broader context of a push toward multipolarity, in which smaller nations seek options rather than alignment.

That idea is now openly discussed across Africa, Asia, and Latin America as global institutions face geopolitical pressure.

What these essays really show

Together, the essays reveal a shift in Zimbabwean thinking toward a space, a more pragmatic view of international relations informed by heightened awareness of global power dynamics.

They neither romanticize China nor seek Western approval. Instead, they pose a harder question: In a world fragmenting, who actually shows up, and on what terms?

Zimbabweans, especially younger, educated voices, are reimagining partnership, power, and choice amid a contested global moment.