The China Model in Zimbabwe: The Belt and Road Initiative and Beyond

Abstract

This article discusses the China model in the context of Zimbabwe's socioeconomic and political trajectory in the past two decades. It shares perspectives on why and how Sino‐Zimbabwe economic relations have failed to produce the desired outcomes. This has been largely influenced by the policy's role as more a political posturing to suit regime interests in the face of international isolation rather than a strategic deployment of the China model. I conclude by giving perspectives on the implications of China's largely self‐interested model of economic engagement with Africa under the new Belt and Road Initiative on the long‐term economic development in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. In the absence of the necessary factors and guiding philosophy, in particular within the public sector management domain, it is highly improbable that the emergence of China as a development partner under the so‐called “Beijing Consensus” will lead to a replication of its success in Zimbabwe and other African countries of the same disposition.Related Articles (in this Special Issue)Babones, Salvatore. 2020. “China's Development Model: Can it be Replicated in Sub‐Saharan Africa?” Politics & Policy 48 (5).Kinyondo, Abel A. 2020. “Does Tanzania's Development Trajectory Borrow from the China Model?” Politics & Policy 48 (5).Ziso, Edson. 2020. “The Political Economy of the Chinese Model in Ethiopia.” Politics & Policy 48 (5).