Feature: Expectations run high as Zimbabwe gears up to welcome Chinese president

With Chinese and Zimbabwean national flags fluttering along the newly revamped airport road and leading newspapers devoting substantial space to China-Zimbabwe relations, the African nation is in a jubilant mood to receive a distinguished guest from the Asian country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to Harare on Tuesday for his first state visit to Zimbabwe, which last hosted a Chinese head of state in 1996. The trip is endowed with an extra layer of significance as this year marks the 35th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

During Xi's stay in Harare, the two sides are expected to ink a series of cooperation deals covering such fields as infrastructure construction, investment, financing, culture and wildlife protection.

In an article published by leading Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald prior to the visit, Xi said he looks forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, and friends from all sectors of the African country with the purpose of enhancing the friendship between the two nations, seeking new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in all areas, and delivering more benefits to the two peoples.

"I am convinced that with the dedicated cultivation of the Chinese and Zimbabwean peoples, the flower of China-Zimbabwe friendship will bloom with even brighter splendor," Xi said in the piece, which was entitled "Let the Flower of China-Zimbabwe Friendship Bloom with New Splendor."

Xi's belief is rooted deeply in the shared will of both countries. China and Zimbabwe boast a time-honored brotherly relationship that dates back to the former's provision of substantial assistance for the latter's struggle for national liberation and independence.

During Mugabe's state visit to China in August 2014, the two countries pledged to be good friends, good partners and good brothers that treat each other as equals, support each other and pursue win-win cooperation and common development.

In April this year, Xi and Mugabe held a meeting in Jakarta on the sidelines of an Asian and African leaders' summit, and vowed to make concerted efforts to lift bilateral relations to higher levels.

In a recent press briefing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said Beijing expects the two countries to seize the opportunity presented by Xi's visit to further cement their traditional friendship and political mutual trust, chart the course for the future development of bilateral ties, boost cooperation in a host of areas, and translate their friendly relations into real benefits for the two peoples.

Those expectations are widely echoed in Zimbabwe. Calling China Zimbabwe's "best friend" on the international stage, Mugabe told Xinhua in a recent interview that Xi's visit marks a significant event in the development of bilateral relations and that he will confer with Xi on bilateral cooperation in multiple areas.

Harare, he said, hopes that China will help Zimbabwe carry out some key economic and public-welfare projects so as to speed up the country's socioeconomic development.

Simon Khaya Moyo, minister of policy coordination and promotion of socioeconomic ventures in the President's Office, told Xinhua that Xi's upcoming state visit to Zimbabwe is of landmark significance and makes the Zimbabwean people "feel proud."

China has made important contributions to Zimbabwe's economic and social development, and it is thanks to the large amount of Chinese investment that Zimbabwe now has so many projects under construction, he added.

Since the two countries established diplomatic relations on the very day of Zimbabwe's independence, bilateral ties have witnessed steady and fruitful development. China has become Zimbabwe's second-largest trading partner and largest source of foreign investment. Two-way trade reached 1.24 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, marking a year-on-year increase of 12.7 percent.

More importantly, the profound friendship and productive cooperation between the two countries are recognized and treasured by the mainstream of Zimbabwean society and undergirded by solid public support, as more and more Zimbabweans are sharing the rich fruits.

A Harare citizen who identified himself as Eddie said to Xinhua on Sunday that he is cooperating with Chinese partners in bottled-water services, and that he prefers to working with Chinese people because they, unlike many from the West, are fair in doing business with Zimbabweans.

Noting that China has already offered considerable support for Zimbabwe's development, the man added that he hopes things will get even better after Xi's visit.

"It seams that the whole country knows President Xi is coming for a visit!" he said with a hearty laugh.

The attention both from the top and from the grassroots is well reflected in the heavy coverage on major Zimbabwean newspapers about the forthcoming event. Besides carrying Xi's article on Saturday, The Herald, Zimbabwe's flagship daily, also ran a string of supplementary stories about bilateral interaction.

On Sunday, The Sunday Mail, a sister newspaper of The Herald and the leading family newspaper in Zimbabwe, not only published Xi's article but dedicated the front-page headline and more than two whole pages to relevant pieces.

In an alteration that shows its own style, The Sunday Mail changed the title of Xi's article into "From China with love." Moreover, it ran the second page under the headline of "Uncle Xi rolls into town."

Mabasa Sasa, editor of The Sunday Mail, told Xinhua in an interview on Sunday that his newspaper is providing "a full coverage" of Xi's visit and has assigned five reporters to track the event. The Herald and other sister publications within the Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Ltd. have all allocated staff members to cover the trip, he added.

He expressed the hope that Xi's visit will lead to further consolidation and implementation of existing bilateral economic and trade agreements, the signing of new cooperation deals, and more cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Particularly, he expected the two countries to make full use of this round of top-level contact and infuse fresh impetus into the execution of bilateral agreements, so as to bring more tangible benefits to the Zimbabwean people.

Obert Mpofu, minister of macroeconomic planning and investment promotion, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Zimbabwe has over the past few months rolled out a series of measures to improve its investment environment and hopes that Chinese companies will invest in its prioritized energy sector.

"The Chinese president will make a difference in our trade relations with China in a manner that is sustainable, in a manner that will attract many investors into Zimbabwe," said the minister. "We can hardly wait for his arrival." Enditem

Xinhua reporters Geng Xuepeng, Xu Lingui and Wang Yue also contributed to the sto