China and Namibia: Writing a new chapter after 35 years of partnership OPINION
Friends
Having journeyed together through 35 years of diplomatic relations, China says it is ready to work even more closely to jointly write a new exciting historic chapter of China-Namibia relations.
Time flies, and now we proudly celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and our friend country Namibia. Over the past 35 years, under the strategic guidance of our leaders and through the joint efforts of our peoples, the traditional friendship between China and Namibia has flourished across great distances, as enduring as the vast Namib Desert and as steadfast as the Great Wall of China.
From China's firm support for Namibia’s national liberation since the 1960s to the immediate establishment of diplomatic ties the second day after Namibia’s independence, and further to the pursuit of shared prosperity and development, China-Namibia relations have grown strong and fruitful. Our partnership has become an important part of South-South cooperation and has contributed significantly to building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
In spite of the fluctuations in the international landscape, China and Namibia have remained trusted friends and reliable partners to one another, and our profound political trust culminated in the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2018. The sisterly relationship between the Communist Party of China and the SWAPO Party of Namibia has always been a very unique asset of the bilateral relations between our two countries.
At the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC), China-Namibia relations witnessed another milestone as President Xi Jinping and President Mbumba held a very productive bilateral meeting and reached important consensus on further deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, outlining a blueprint for the future of China-Namibia relations.
For 35 consecutive years, it has been a tradition in Chinese diplomacy for its Foreign Ministers to prioritize African countries during their inaugural overseas visits each year. Several days after we ushered in the new year of 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made Namibia the first stop of his annual visit to Africa, also his second visit to Namibia since 2016, which has fully reflected China’s unwavering commitment to further advancing China-Namibia relations.
As inspired by the FOCAC Beijing Summit, joining hands to achieve modernization will be the outstanding theme of China-Namibia relations in the years ahead. What we have achieved in the past by deepening practical cooperation in extensive areas is indeed encouraging, yet what we are going to work for together will bring even bigger tangible benefits to our two peoples.
China has remained Namibia’s largest source of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner for several consecutive years. Husab and Rossing uranium mines, two flagship Chinese investment projects in Namibia, contribute approximately 6-7% of Namibia’s GDP, create around 6,000 high-paying jobs, and generate nearly 1.3 billion Namibian dollars in tax revenue annually.
As the recent acquisitions of Osino Gold Mine and Tsumeb Smelter have shown, Chinese investment in Namibia will continue to expand in future. Many Chinese companies have expressed their interest in investing in Namibia’s new energy sector, with some of them already committed to actual participation. And the emerging oil and gas industry in Namibia will also provide new opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation.
Two-way trade will also grow significantly as China has already announced at the FOCAC Beijing Summit to open wider to African agricultural products. Namibia is the first African country to export beef to China, and the bilateral agreement for China to import Namibian sheep and goat meat was signed in Beijing last September.
Furthermore, our two Governments are also discussing Namibia’s export of more agricultural products to China. In the time ahead, the local agricultural community will hear one good news after another in terms of China-Namibia agricultural cooperation.
China is firmly determined to provide support for Africa’s modernization, which is crystal clear in the announcement of the ten partnership actions by Chinese President Xi at the FOCAC Beijing Summit. We will earnestly be implementing those important decisions with our African friends including Namibia, which will for sure give new strong impetus to the development of China-Namibia relations.
When we celebrate the 35th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, it’s important to highlight the robust people-to-people connections between our two countries. China has always attached great importance to prioritizing people’s livelihood projects in bilateral development cooperation, and strongly supported Namibian Government’s efforts in addressing the people's needs.
When Namibia launched an emergency vaccination program during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Chinese Government responded positively swiftly, and China was the first country to donate vaccines to Namibia.
In 2023, China announced to provide 10 million yuan worth of emergency food aid to Namibia to complement its drought relief efforts. And then during the FOCAC summit last year, China decided to provide an additional 20 million yuan worth of food aid to Namibia.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China has donated eight schools to Namibia, which have played an important role in improving educational infrastructure in relevant communities, and have become important symbols of China-Namibia friendship.
In the area of agriculture, the Second Phase of China-FAO-Namibia South-South Cooperation Project was launched last year, and eight Chinese agricultural experts have been providing training and technical assistance in various regions of Namibia.
We will also help accelerate Namibia's agricultural development through other means such as projects of establishing China-Namibia agricultural demonstration centers and borehole drilling.
It’s notable that the Chinese medical team at the Katutura Hospital has been providing free Chinese medical service since 1996, and last year alone they performed a total of 12,500 treatments for the local patients. Established in 2013, the Confucius Institute at the University of Namibia has been instrumental in teaching Chinese to nearly 1,000 students each year.
Having journeyed together through 35 years of diplomatic relations and with the Namibian new Government coming to office, we are ready to work with our Namibian friends even more closely to jointly write a new exciting historic chapter of China-Namibia relations. It’s our hope and belief that the development of China-Namibia relations will continue to get strong support from our Namibian friends of all sectors of society.
*Zhao Weiping is the Chinese Ambassador to Namibia**
From China's firm support for Namibia’s national liberation since the 1960s to the immediate establishment of diplomatic ties the second day after Namibia’s independence, and further to the pursuit of shared prosperity and development, China-Namibia relations have grown strong and fruitful. Our partnership has become an important part of South-South cooperation and has contributed significantly to building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
In spite of the fluctuations in the international landscape, China and Namibia have remained trusted friends and reliable partners to one another, and our profound political trust culminated in the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2018. The sisterly relationship between the Communist Party of China and the SWAPO Party of Namibia has always been a very unique asset of the bilateral relations between our two countries.
At the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC), China-Namibia relations witnessed another milestone as President Xi Jinping and President Mbumba held a very productive bilateral meeting and reached important consensus on further deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, outlining a blueprint for the future of China-Namibia relations.
For 35 consecutive years, it has been a tradition in Chinese diplomacy for its Foreign Ministers to prioritize African countries during their inaugural overseas visits each year. Several days after we ushered in the new year of 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made Namibia the first stop of his annual visit to Africa, also his second visit to Namibia since 2016, which has fully reflected China’s unwavering commitment to further advancing China-Namibia relations.
As inspired by the FOCAC Beijing Summit, joining hands to achieve modernization will be the outstanding theme of China-Namibia relations in the years ahead. What we have achieved in the past by deepening practical cooperation in extensive areas is indeed encouraging, yet what we are going to work for together will bring even bigger tangible benefits to our two peoples.
China has remained Namibia’s largest source of foreign direct investment and its second-largest trading partner for several consecutive years. Husab and Rossing uranium mines, two flagship Chinese investment projects in Namibia, contribute approximately 6-7% of Namibia’s GDP, create around 6,000 high-paying jobs, and generate nearly 1.3 billion Namibian dollars in tax revenue annually.
As the recent acquisitions of Osino Gold Mine and Tsumeb Smelter have shown, Chinese investment in Namibia will continue to expand in future. Many Chinese companies have expressed their interest in investing in Namibia’s new energy sector, with some of them already committed to actual participation. And the emerging oil and gas industry in Namibia will also provide new opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation.
Two-way trade will also grow significantly as China has already announced at the FOCAC Beijing Summit to open wider to African agricultural products. Namibia is the first African country to export beef to China, and the bilateral agreement for China to import Namibian sheep and goat meat was signed in Beijing last September.
Furthermore, our two Governments are also discussing Namibia’s export of more agricultural products to China. In the time ahead, the local agricultural community will hear one good news after another in terms of China-Namibia agricultural cooperation.
China is firmly determined to provide support for Africa’s modernization, which is crystal clear in the announcement of the ten partnership actions by Chinese President Xi at the FOCAC Beijing Summit. We will earnestly be implementing those important decisions with our African friends including Namibia, which will for sure give new strong impetus to the development of China-Namibia relations.
When we celebrate the 35th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, it’s important to highlight the robust people-to-people connections between our two countries. China has always attached great importance to prioritizing people’s livelihood projects in bilateral development cooperation, and strongly supported Namibian Government’s efforts in addressing the people's needs.
When Namibia launched an emergency vaccination program during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Chinese Government responded positively swiftly, and China was the first country to donate vaccines to Namibia.
In 2023, China announced to provide 10 million yuan worth of emergency food aid to Namibia to complement its drought relief efforts. And then during the FOCAC summit last year, China decided to provide an additional 20 million yuan worth of food aid to Namibia.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China has donated eight schools to Namibia, which have played an important role in improving educational infrastructure in relevant communities, and have become important symbols of China-Namibia friendship.
In the area of agriculture, the Second Phase of China-FAO-Namibia South-South Cooperation Project was launched last year, and eight Chinese agricultural experts have been providing training and technical assistance in various regions of Namibia.
We will also help accelerate Namibia's agricultural development through other means such as projects of establishing China-Namibia agricultural demonstration centers and borehole drilling.
It’s notable that the Chinese medical team at the Katutura Hospital has been providing free Chinese medical service since 1996, and last year alone they performed a total of 12,500 treatments for the local patients. Established in 2013, the Confucius Institute at the University of Namibia has been instrumental in teaching Chinese to nearly 1,000 students each year.
Having journeyed together through 35 years of diplomatic relations and with the Namibian new Government coming to office, we are ready to work with our Namibian friends even more closely to jointly write a new exciting historic chapter of China-Namibia relations. It’s our hope and belief that the development of China-Namibia relations will continue to get strong support from our Namibian friends of all sectors of society.
*Zhao Weiping is the Chinese Ambassador to Namibia**
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