HARARE, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Aligning China's upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan and Zimbabwe's second National Development Strategy (NDS 2) would unlock more cooperation opportunities between the two countries, a Zimbabwean economic expert has said.
Speaking at a media and think tank seminar on Monday in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, Dereck Goto said that as both Zimbabwe and China are about to implement their new development plans, they stand at a moment of extraordinary opportunity.
Covering the same period from 2026 to 2030, China's 15th Five-Year plan outlines the country's economic and social development priorities, while Zimbabwe's NDS 2 provides a roadmap for its Vision 2030 goal of attaining an upper-middle-income economy.
"What is remarkable and historically rare is that China's 15th Five-Year Plan and Zimbabwe's NDS 2 cover exactly the same years. This creates a window of exceptional strategic alignment," said Goto, adding that there are areas of clear convergence as both nations attach importance to industrialization and value addition.
"Both emphasize technological innovation in the digital economy. Both seek energy security coupled with a green transition. Both recognize the importance of global supply chain resilience. And both frame development with long-horizon national visions," said Goto.
"If we align China's 15th Five-Year Plan and Zimbabwe's NDS 2, then the years from 2026 to 2030 will not just be another planning cycle. They will make a new chapter in our economic, technological, and diplomatic partnerships," said Goto.
To attain its development goals, he noted that Zimbabwe has followed a deliberate sequence in economic development planning through the Transitional Stabilization Program (2018-2020), NDS1 (2021-2025), and the upcoming NDS 2 (2026-2030).
He highlighted China's role in earlier development projects, including the expansion of the Kariba South Hydro Power Station, Victoria Falls International Airport, and the Zimbabwe National Defense University.
Under NDS1, Chinese support intensified with the completion of Hwange Thermal Power Station Units 7 and 8, the expansion of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, and the new parliament building in Harare.
"These initiatives contributed directly to the goals of NDS1 by strengthening infrastructure, boosting energy security, expanding productive capacity, and enhancing Zimbabwe's growth prospects," he said.
Goto added the upgrade of China-Zimbabwe relations to an all-weather community with a shared future, during Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's visit to China in September, provides a diplomatic framework to unlock new forms of win-win cooperation in the next five-year cycle.
