China is aiming to expand its imports from Namibia to agriculture and aquatic products in an effort to provide more access to the market.
The Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, Zhao Weiping, said the decision is a culmination of President Xi Jinping who put forward China’s initiative and plan for supporting Africa’s industrialisation, agricultural modernisation and talent development at the China-Africa Leaders Dialogue in South Africa in August.
“I hope we will work together to ensure this initiative and plan will benefit Namibia. In addition, we will forge closer economic cooperation in various fields, not only in the mining sector but also in renewable energy like green hydrogen. We should also explore the possibilities for both countries to conduct more projects within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.
The Ambassador further said from January to September, China-Namibia bilateral trade volume reached U$1 billion representing an increase of 29% compared to 2022.
“Although no major investment projects are announced this year, an increasing number of Chinese companies are showing their interest in investment opportunities in Namibia. We don’t have official statistics for the number of Chinese tourists to Namibia so far this year, but according to the local Chinese travel agencies, it is expected to receive about 8,000 Chinese tourists this year, which is almost half of the number in peak times before the pandemic,” he said.
Sharing some highlights of China-Namibia projects in 2023, Weiping said the ongoing Chinese Government grant projects are progressing smoothly.
The projects include four rural school projects in the north, which will be completed soon, the new airport road 2B section, and the satellite data ground receiving station.
“And we are also discussing with the Namibian side on implementing some new development assistance projects. Based on my understanding of our two countries and the nature of our bilateral relations, I have set the cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education infrastructure and talent development as the key priorities of my work in the time ahead,” he added.
Weiping said he is familiarising himself with the people and places of Namibia, in an effort to figure out contributions he can further make to the development of the bilateral relations.
“Agriculture is critically important for Namibia in ensuring food security or solving the unemployment problem. I am very sensitive to all the issues related to agricultural cooperation between our two countries. Thus, when I learned that Namibia was experiencing a big shortage of food, I immediately reported it to my government, and responded positively with a grant of 10 million Chinese Yuan (approximately N$26 million) for emergency food aid to Namibia. Currently, the Embassy is discussing with the Namibian government on the implementation of the aid,” he said.
Another area of importance Weiping pointed is education, to which he said China is examining some proposals that were presented by Vocational Training Centres on how to cooperate.
“I know how big the challenge Namibia faces in improving its education infrastructure, and through my visits to various regions, I was informed there is a need to build more than 4,000 classrooms in order to meet the actual needs. And I also understand the need for Namibia to meet the challenges of high-quality talent development,” he noted.
