The Foreign Ministry denied yesterday that China and Zimbabwe were discussing a US$2 billion loan to stabilize Zimbabwe's economy. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "After seeing this news, we looked for confirmation with the relevant departments, and there is no such a deal."
Chris Mutsvangwa, the Zimbabwean ambassador to China, was quoted on Friday by The Herald, a Zimbabwean newspaper, as saying that his country had opened talks with China on the loan in a move to stabilize its economy. Western media too ran the story allegedly without confirmation from the ambassador, and alluded to the baseless fact that China is attracted to Zimbabwe's mineral resources such as uranium and platinum to fuel its booming economy. |