Zimbabwe’s President and Chinese Business Community Warn of Western Undermining

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the State House in Harare. Image via Sunday Mail.

The Zimbabwean president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Chinese companies active in the country are both issuing dark warnings that Western governments are paying NGOs to undermine them. This comes against the background of a months-long standoff between Chinese mining and other companies, and a coalition of NGOs alleging labor and environmental abuses. 

The Zimbabwean government and the Chinese embassy there have both accused the United States of using NGOs as proxies to plant anti-Chinese media content. Earlier this month, the state-owned Herald newspaper alleged that the U.S. embassy in Harare is planting disinformation in order to foment a ‘color revolution.’ The Chinese embassy’s Twitter feed has also pivoted to strongly anti-U.S. language. 

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by Cobus van Staden

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