Previous| Next | Content| Main |Home 

Zimbabwe's Look East Policy: A Critical Appraisal of Zimbabwe’s Foreign Policy in the New Millennium

Percyslage Chigora*

The 20^th century has seen a rapid rise in the importance of foreign policy with virtually every nation in the world being able to interact with one another in some diplomatic form. This can be attributed to the increased inter linkages amongst international actors in both developed and developing societies in various fields of interaction, i.e. economic, political and socio-cultural. Zimbabwe is one African country that has maintained a rather active role participating in several fora maintaining links with several countries and participating in several multilateral institutions. At the turn of the new millennium Zimbabwe has seen its relations with the West souring. This situation has largely manifested in Zimbabwe’s heated debate with Britain over the land issue, enactment of the US-Zimbabwe Democracy Bill in the United States, suspension of Zimbabwe from the International Monetary Fund, suspension and subsequent withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth, suspension of aid in social services by some Nordic countries, the imposition of sanctions by the European Union and damning reports on Zimbabwe's human rights abuse, and non-adherence to the rule of law and massive rigging of elections. This loss of friendly actors in the West has had negative effects on Zimbabwean society, particularly in respect of shortage of foreign exchange and declining investment. Zimbabwe under the Mugabe government had no option but to redesign its foreign policy and seek assistance and partnership with the East. This article therefore attempts to explore this relationship within the framework of the Look East Policy. It maintains that it is not out of ordinary that the state would seek new friends. As Makwiramiti has noted,

Given that Zimbabwe's traditional trading partners in the European Union and the United States have drastically scaled down on business or stopped completely, it is natural for the government to look elsewhere in order to save the country from total collapse, and there is nothing bad about that.³

It is important to highlight from the onset that foreign policies are designed to help protect a country’s national interest, national security, ideological goals and economic property and this can take place through peaceful co-operation with other nations, through aggression, war and/or exploitation.⁴ According to Evans and Newnham (1990) foreign policy is “the activity whereby state actors act, react and interact”. In other words it is a set of political goals outlining how a particular country relates with another country. To some, foreign policy is the “set of decisions made by national leaders which are intended to serve as a broad guideline for choosing among various courses of actions in specific situations of international affairs" (Pearson and Rochester 1988, 103). However, states are not the only actors in international relations.

According to these analysts there are three sets of factors that are at play intermingly in considering a state’s relations to the other actors, that is, systematic (conditions in external environment), national attributions (demographic, economic history, governmental) and idiosyncratic (Ibid). Normally, as the authors have noted, state actions are not taken as ends in themselves but are tied in some ways to larger purposes from long run aspirations to more immediate aims that national leaders hope to achieve in their dealing with other countries. It is difficult to find consistency in foreign policies, hence it is not easy to evaluate and label a country in simplified version. For example, it would be impossible to reach a whole conclusion and say that Zimbabwe is an autocracy, abuser of rights, outpost of tyranny; and added to this is to notice that the behaviour of states can change overtime and with different set of leaders and conditions. But there are patterns that are easily noticeable, “self presence and self extension”, among others.

Diplomatic ties with countries in the east, particularly with China, have a long history for Zimbabwe. Chinese officials who paid visits to Zimbabwe include State Councilor and Defense Minister Chi Haotian (1994), Vice Premier Zhu Rongji (1995), President Jiang Zemin (1996), State Councilor Chen Junsheng (1996), Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Xu Jialu (1999), Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (2000), the Standing Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Wei Jianxing (2002) and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Wan Guoquan(2003). Zimbabwean officials also paid numerous visits to China. These include, President Robert Mugabe (1980,1981,1985,1987, 1993 and 1999), Vice President Muzenda (1996), Foreign Minister Mudenge (1996), the Speaker of the Parliament Mnangagwa (2001), the National Chairman of Zanu-PF Nkomo (2001) and Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the leader of Zanu-PF in the Parliament Chinamasa (2003).

Mumbengegwi has noted that Zimbabwe-China relations have been long friendly and China has rendered huge support for the people of Zimbabwe during their struggle for national liberation. After the country attained independence, the Chinese government and people have offered considerable assistance to Zimbabwe for its national development, which the people of Zimbabwe will remember forever. Zimbabwe is firmly committed to constantly enhancing its traditional friendship and cooperative relations with China.⁵ A number of joint activities have been carried out between Zimbabwe and China. China has rendered assistance to Zimbabwe in the construction of the Harare Stadium, hospitals, dams, school dormitories, wells and clothing factories. With the support of the buyer's credit by the Export-Import Bank of China, the China Capital Iron and Steel Corporation took part in the reconstruction of No.4 blast furnace of the Zimbabwean Iron and Steel Corporation. The project was completed in June 1999.

Zimbabwe’s "Look East" policy is positively working out to a certain extent. Gradually, Asian countries are proving themselves capable of serving as alternatives to the rich Western nations in countries like Zimbabwe. The trade volume between China and Zimbabwe in 2002 was 191 million US dollars. China's exports to Zimbabwe totalled 32 million US dollars, and imports totalled 159 million US dollars. The two countries have signed a cultural agreement and a protocol on higher education cooperation, which have led to 11 Zimbabwean students studying in China, and a few Chinese teachers and medical personnel working in Zimbabwe.

According to the official newspaper, Herald, the new agreements with China included a grant worth US$6 million to import maize, finance the expansion of the Hwange thermal power station and some commercial projects, and extend a loan to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) that has been failing to meet the country's power demands because of lack of adequate foreign currency to pay outside suppliers.⁶

The "Look East" policy adopted by the Government has managed to unlock investment opportunities in the key sectors of the economy. The business partnerships which emerged from the policy include the joint venture between the Government-controlled Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Midex Overseas Limited of India. IDC and Midex are currently constructing a multi-seed oil processor plant in Chitungwiza. The plant has a capacity to process over 20 000 tonnes of cotton seed and soya beans per year. The project is expected to create more than four hundred jobs for Chitungwiza residents and those of surrounding areas. China and India have played a pivotal role in supplying the country with essential equipment for rural electrification programme. To date, 4 229 projects have been completed while 1 157 projects are at various stages of completion. The growth in numbers of tourists from Asia bears testimony that the Look East policy is beginning to bear fruit. In 2005 the country witnessed an increase in visitors from Asia, notably China, which granted Zimbabwe an Approved Destination Status.⁷

In the transport sector, Air Zimbabwe acquired two MA60 aircraft from China, bringing the number of its fleet to eight. This has enabled the national airline to expand its domestic, regional and international routes. Public transport operator, ZUPCO (Zimbabwe United Passenger Company) also managed to acquire 135 conventional buses and 41 mini-buses from China. Chinese business people have established retail shops in the capital, Harare, and other major towns, mostly selling cheap electrical appliances, clothes, blankets, toys and beauty products. Retailers are enjoying thriving business, and the shops are popular with people who cannot afford to shop at the upmarket departmental stores. Many items, especially clothing, are sold only for the quarter of their price. While a modest television set is sold at around Zim$8m (US $450) at the established shops, the Chinese ones cost as little as Zim$1m (US $56).⁸

Some have questioned the quality of the goods sold. Chitima, in relation to this criticism, has noted:

No one is forced to go and buy from the Chinese shops. Those that have money can go and buy things from expensive shops, but for some of us who earn poor salaries, we do not have a choice but to go to China Town (a complex housing Chinese traders)...It is true that their clothes or electrical goods do not last long, but those that buy them should treat them with extra care, so that they can use them for as long as possible.⁹

At the same time, it has to be noted that there is nothing new about Chinese products because Zimbabwean cross-border traders used to go to Botswana and Zambia to buy Chinese products and then re-sell them at the informal markets in Zimbabwe before the Chinese came to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has also approached Iran, which has led to a US $120 million investment by FARB Co, an Iranian firm, to the expansion of the Kariba South Power Station, whose operations are vital to the electricity supply.¹² In a similar effort to benefit from the Look East policy, Zimbabwe plans to build an oil refinery with the help of Iran, one of the world’s major oil producing countries, to solve the surging fuel prices.¹⁰ Iran has already given 15 million euros in credit to Zimbabwe for medical supplies and farming equipment; the new treaties pledge another 20 million euros for agriculture and communications, including the construction of a commuter railway into the capital.

The bilateral trade between Indonesia, the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, and Zimbabwe increased six fold in 2004 compared to the previous year. In 2004, the trade volume between the two countries jumped to US$34,07 million from a mere US$5,26 million in 2003. The balance of trade was in favour of Zimbabwe.¹¹

Many have questioned the practicability of the Look East policy. Certainly challenges exist. As the Harare-based economist John Robertson has recommended, the government need to mend its relations with the IMF, World Bank, USA and European countries in order to revive the economy. He has noted:

China itself is looking to the West, and there is no way we can sustain our economy by limiting trade to China, or one or two other Asian countries, because that will give the country short-lived relief. Let's make sure that we talk to the IMF so that it can resume financial assistance, for that is how we could once again get steady forex inflows.¹²

The extent to which the policy is a success has also been questioned. Europe, America and Africa seem to have remained Zimbabwe's major trading partners despite the government's Look East policy as latest figures from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) reveal. The figures show that local companies are still exporting the bulk of their products to traditional markets. Although the new policy started three years ago, the numbers indicate that there is very little business going on between Zimbabwe and Asian countries that are the major focus of the policy. Central Bank statistics show that for the six months up to June 2005 Africa and Europe made up a combined 81.37% of Zimbabwe's exports. The country exported goods worth US$801 million during the same period, with Africa taking up US$330 million (41.12%) while goods worth US$323 million (40.25%) went to Europe. The reality of the Zimbabwean economy is that it is dominated by British, South African and American companies that hold nearly all key sectors. Trade between Zimbabwe and the United States amounted to US$22 million (2.84%) while Australia and Canada imported goods worth a combined US$2.3 million (about 0.30%). The EU countries and Britain are the major destinations for the country's exports to Europe. China, which is the major target of the Look East policy, is lumped with many other countries under the "others" section which, according to the figures, has so far contributed a combined US$124 million (15.49%) in foreign currency to Zimbabwe.¹³

Some analysts say the problem with the Look East policy is that it is not a policy at all. They say it is more of a political slogan stemming from Mugabe’s problems with the West. Former Information minister Jonathan Moyo, a political scientist and independent MP, has noted that:

The “Look East” mantra was not a policy by “any stretch of the imagination”. There is no such a policy. It’s a political slogan. It’s typical of the Zanu PF leadership to parade slogans as policies. The ‘Look East’ slogan lacks substance and that’s why it was so embarrassing to see the president and government officials wildly excited because of only two aircraft bought from China by Air Zimbabwe.”¹⁴

Such critics maintain that it is of no use trying to persist with a dreadful charade in the hope that the reality will vanish and be replaced by wishful thinking. But the reality is that Zimbabwe inherited a set of international economic and political relations that still is shaping and, in all probability, will continue to heavily influence the country’s future.¹⁵ Political relations are dominated and defined by intergovernmental links and are easy to refashion to suit the political agenda of a regime in power. However, economic relations are forged by a combination of complex historical circumstances and a network of factors, such as financial and commercial linkages, international markets, commodity regimes, trade treaties, and lines of communication such as transport routes and other variables like public and private sector arrangements, production patterns, import necessities and export opportunities. International economic relations are far less responsive to government intervention short of diktat and will almost inevitably remain at variance with the pattern of political relations and alliances of a regime with upside-down priorities.

The extent to which Zimbabwe’s Look East policy would be a success is dependent on a number of factors. It has to be noted that countries have permanent economic interests, and not permanent friends and/or enemies. Thus, there is nothing sinister about Zimbabwe’s Look East policy, especially given Asia’s huge population, abundant natural resources and impressive economic growth. Asia is fast becoming a new economic hub of the world as well as a strategic centre of gravity in international politics from which Zimbabwe has a lot to benefit.

Evans Graham and Jeffrey Newnham (eds.). 1990. The dictionary of world politics, Harvester Wheatsheaf, Herdfordshire.

Pearson, Frederic S. and J. Martin Rochester. 1998. International relations: The global foundations in the late 20^th Century. MacGraw Hill, New York, p.103.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200512080778.html

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/fzs/gjlb/3119/default.htm

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2005/June/Friday3/analysis.html

R N Internet desk, Suffering Unites Zimbabwe and Iran, http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/currentaffairs/region/africa/Zim050120

www.encyclopedia.laborlatalk.com

"The West" is a term used to denote mostly industrialised countries in the developed world, or "the first world", also sometimes referred to as the North.

"The East" refers to actors largely made up of Asia and islands in the Far East and the Pacific.

http://www.misa.org/pipermail/misanet/2005-July/000000.html

aborlatalk.com

http://www.chinaconsulatesf.org/eng/xw/t205157.htm

http://www.misa.org/pipermail/misanet/2005-July/000000.html

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2005/September/Friday23/3243.html

Ibid

Ibid

http://www.glob.co.zw/home%20page/Zim%20Look%20East%20bears%20fruit.html

Ibid

http://www.misa.org/pipermail/misanet/2005-July/000000.html

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2005/September/Friday23/3243.html

Ibid

Ibid

Department of History and Development Studies, Midlands State University, Private Bag 9055, Gweru, Zimbabwe; E-mail chigorap2000@yahoo.com

Back| Next | Content| Top| Main