2015年CRI Expectations Run High as President Xi is to Visit Zimbabwe

 

Streets and shop windows throughout Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, have been adorned¹ with Chinese flags. 

Local newspapers in Zimbabwe have also been focusing a significant amount of coverage² for the past 3-weeks on China-related topics. 

Mabasa Sasa, editor of the state-owned Herald³ and Sunday Mail national newspapers in Zimbabwe, says its hoped the Chinese President, who the papers have been calling "Uncle Xi" in their editorials, can help solidify⁴ and create a number of new economic agreements for the country. 

"This visit what he does is add impetus⁵ to those deals that have been signed. Some of them were signed last year when President Mugabee went on a state visit to China. You are talking of energy, infrastructure⁶, water, health, agriculture, mining. It's a whole range of industries. So what this visit does really is it adds impetus to the implementation⁷ of those projects. " 

Zimbabwe's state-run power provider has already managed to secure a 1.2-billion US dollar loan from the China Export-Import Bank to upgrade its power generation capabilities⁸. 

Numerous other deals covering areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, mining and transportation are expected to be signed. 

Chinese authorities are also said to be in talks about opening up new areas of financing to give Zimbabwe access to much needed lines of credit. 

Christopher Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe's former Ambassador to China, says despite a slowdown this year in Chinese investment in Africa, Zimbabwe has continued to enjoy increasing Chinese investment since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. 

"The trade between China and Africa at that time was about 8 billion. Now it's about 220 billion. This is almost an exponential rise in the relationship between China and Africa. So nothing is going to stop this relationship from achieving prosperity for the two peoples of Africa and China, for the two regions, developing regions, Africa and China." 

China has been Africa's largest trading partner since 2009. Chinese ties with Zimbabwe, formalized by Chinese diplomatic recognition after its independence from Great Britian in 1980, have remained close for the past 35-years.

China's engagement with Zimbabwe has prompted a significant number of Chinese companies to set up operations in the country. 

Li Haiyang, head of the Chinese Chamber⁹ of Commerce in Zimbabwe, says an influx¹⁰ of new Chinese help in Zimbabwe would be greatly appreciated. "Chinese companies' development has the support of local governments and the people of Zimbabwe. 

The general investment environment is very good. 

However, in recent years, Zimbabwe's economy has not being doing well, which has been hindering the growth of Chinese companies in the country."

Following his time in Zimbabwe, Xi Jinping and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will head next door to South Africa for a 3-day Forum¹¹ on China-Africa Cooperation, which the Chinese President will chair. 

The Chinese government has rolled out around 900 assistance programs in Africa in areas such as agriculture, health and education, and has also provided technical training to some 30-thousand people in Africa over the past 3-years. 

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

1 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

4 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

5 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

11 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。