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 China |  Mozambique |
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China–Mozambique relations date back to the 1960s, when China began to support the struggle of Mozambique's Marxist-orientedFRELIMO party againstPortuguese colonialism.[1] Diplomatic relations were formally established on 25 June 1975,[2]: 348 soon after Mozambiquegained independence fromPortugal.[3] In November 2006, Mozambique became the thirteenthAfrican country to be added to China's official list of tourism destinations.[4]
Hu Jintao, president of the People's Republic of China, made an official visit to Mozambique in February 2007, during which he andArmando Guebuza, the president ofMozambique, pledged further cooperation in the areas of economy, technology, agriculture, education and sports.[5]Shanghai andMaputo share asister city relationship.
In 2016, China and Mozambique signed a strategic partnership.[6]: 211
From 1992 to 2003, 22 Mozambicans went to China asinternational students. Estimates for the number ofChinese nationals residing in Mozambique as of 2007[update] ranged from 1,500 to 12,000.[1][7]
Mozambique follows theone China principle. It recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole government of China andTaiwan as an integral part of China's territory, and supports all efforts by the PRC to "achievenational reunification". It also considersHong Kong,Xinjiang andTibet to be China's internal affairs.[8]
In June 2020, Mozambique was one of 53 countries that backed theHong Kong national security law at theUnited Nations.[9]
Mozambique and China both participate in the multi-lateral groupForum Macao, which China formed in 2003 to increase economic and commercial cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.[2]: 62
China's pattern of trade with Mozambique differs from that with their major trading partners on the African continent, such asAngola,Nigeria, andSudan. China mainly imports agricultural and fisheries products from Mozambique, but few raw materials, while exporting manufactured goods and machinery. Between 2004 and 2006, bilateral trade tripled in value fromUS$70 million to US$210 million, making China one of Mozambique's three largest trading partners, behind South Africa andPortugal.[1] China has also become a major buyer of Mozambican timber; despite local regulations forbidding the export of unprocessed logs, which aim to force foreign countries hoping to gain access to Mozambican resources to invest in setting up processing facilities in the country, many logs areexported illegally. Chinese businessmen are not typically involved in the actual practise of logging; instead, it is performed mainly by locals, who then bring the logs to buyers in port cities.[10]
China has also become an increasingly important player in Mozambique's construction industry; over one-third of Mozambique's new road construction is now carried out by Chinese contractors. Contractors from other countries, who have been losing out on business due to their higher costs, complain that the Chinese contractors make no effort to transfer skills or technology to locals, and do not make use of local or regional labour subcontractors, instead preferring to import and manage their own workers. However, Chinese-run construction sites are better-organised and have a lower rate of pilferage.[11] In the first 10 months of 2012, the value of trade was US$1.1 billion, with Mozambique being the 23rdlargest trading partner of China.[12]
In addition to trade, China has begun providingdevelopment aid to Mozambique as well. TheExport-Import Bank of China have madesoft loans to Mozambique for infrastructure construction, for example providing US$60 million in 2006, and have twicecancelled large proportions of the country's debt to China, forgiving US$22 million in 2001 and US$30 million in 2007. They have also built a number of government buildings and public facilities free of charge, such as the national parliament building and the national stadium.[1] According toAidData, from 2000 to 2012, there are approximately 52 Chinese official development finance projects identified in Zimbabwe through various media reports.[13]
On its 2017 medical mission to Africa, thePeople's Liberation Army Navy hospital shipPeace Ark traveled to Mozambique where its staff treated 9,881 Mozambiquan patients.[2]: 284
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