Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa thanked China for supporting his country during the "hard times" and added his country is seeking deeper economic ties with China, during an interview with CGTN ahead of his five-day state visit to China.

The president wants to boost and grow the country's economy, which has been battered by years of sanctions.

"I will say thank you not only to the president of China but also the people of China for standing and supporting Zimbabwe during these hard times when the West imposed sanctions on us. I have no doubt that in the economic forum meetings that I am going to address in China, I will be able to invite investors to come to Zimbabwe from China and tell them the opportunities that exist here and the environment, the security of investment that we have created in our own jurisdiction," Mnangagwa said.

The African nation aims to revive the country's economy and make it a middle-class income country by 2030. In order to achieve this, Mnangagwa is turning to his long-time ally – China.

"We must have deeper economic relations with China. We know the road that we need to follow to grow our economy. We have priorities set out and we know the goals that we want to meet," Mnangagwa told CGTN.

Zimbabwe's economy could grow by up to 6% this year – due to reforms being pursued by President Mnangagwa's government. Boosting both domestic and foreign direct investment is key to growing the economy.

The Zimbabwean leader also said his country needs to embrace new technologies.

"The issue is not only about attracting capital into Zimbabwe. It's an issue of leapfrogging after 18 years of isolation so that we can catch up with the rest of the developing countries," Mnangagwa noted.

Under a 100-day program, the Zimbabwean administration has implemented several reforms – including those that improve the ease of doing business in the country.

Mnangagwa's visit to China, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, starts from Monday the 2nd of April until Friday the 6th, and is his first state visit outside of Africa since he took over from former president Robert Mugabe last November.