On the morning of January 4, 2025, H.E. Mr. Zhao Weiping, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Namibia, had an exclusive interview with Ms. Blanche Goreses, anchor of Namibia Broadcasting Corporation. Below is the transcript of the interview.

Blanche: Thank you for granting us the interview ahead of Foreign Minister of China, Minister Wang Yi's visit, which is quite a high-level visit that is testament to the good sound relations that Namibia and China enjoy, and we've seen a lot of investments or the fruition of those good relations over the years. So just to take us through the main purpose of why a country like Namibia has been chosen by Minister Wang Yi to visit.

Ambassador: Thank you, Blanche. First, let me say a few words about the background of the visit. Every year, Chinese foreign minister will choose African countries for their first overseas visit. This has become China's diplomatic tradition, which started in 1991. In the past 34 years, four Chinese foreign ministers have included Namibia in their first overseas visits to Africa in respective years, which has fully demonstrated the depth of the friendship between China and Namibia. This is the second time for Minister Wang Yi to include Namibia in his first annual overseas visit. Last time was in 2016. This time, Namibia will be the first stop of his Africa trip. After Namibia, he will visit the Republic of Congo, Chad, and Nigeria. Minister Wang is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China. So he is a deputy prime minister level national leader in China. His visit to Namibia next Monday will be the highest level visit by Chinese leaders to Namibia since 2019. The main purpose of his visit, I think, is to reaffirm our strong commitment to China-Namibia relations. We attach great importance to this bilateral relationship. We have achieved a lot in the past, but there is still huge potential to be tapped. We hope to work together with the Namibian side to carry on our traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation in extensive areas, and elevate the bilateral relationship to a new high.

Blanche: Now, you rightly pointed out good relations between the two countries. And I remember recently, or dating back, as I think, four years ago, when the two countries elevated the relationship to that of comprehensive strategic cooperation that has also been a good thing for Namibia as well as for the Chinese side. And we have also seen largest investments in Africa that's now in the mining sector of Namibia by Chinese companies. And just to talk to us about how those investments had been to aid Namibia or Namibian government in the quest to encourage job creation and value addition to natural resources. Will this also form part of Minister Wang Yi's talks, official talks, with the leaders of Namibia?

Ambassador: China-Namibia relations have always been very good. And bilateral cooperation between us has always been mutually beneficial. China has been Namibia's second-largest trading partner for many years already. And our investment in Namibia accounts for about one-third of the total FDI Namibia received. So far, our single largest investment project in Namibia is the Husab Uranium. This company, together with Rossing Uranium, another Chinese investment project in Namibia, created more than 6,000 high-salary jobs for Namibia. And they also contributed a lot to the tax revenue of the Namibian government. In 2023 alone, they paid 70 million US dollars in tax. Last year, we did have some new investments in Namibia. Chinese companies have made two major acquisitions. They are Tsumeb Smelter and the Osino Gold Mine. And these are the two latest big investment projects by Chinese companies, which cost them hundreds of millions of US dollars. And I believe they will create a lot of new jobs for Namibia. And we also have implemented a series of development assistance projects in Namibia. To give you some examples, we have donated nine schools, and also the Namibia National Youth Training Center to Namibian, since the establishment of our diplomatic relations. I think these facilities have benefited thousands of Namibian youth over the years. These Chinese government-grant projects also include the New Airport Road B2 section, which is a 1 billion Namibian dollars project and is set to be completed this year. And also, we provide more than 200 training opportunities in China for Namibian people every year, and 50 scholarships for Namibian students to study in China. We are also very supportive for Namibia government's efforts in drought relief. The first batch of emergency food assistance from China, which was 25 million Namibian dollars, will arrive in Namibia next month. And the shipping arrangement for the second batch, which was 50 million Namibian dollars, is currently being discussed between our two governments. So these examples have clearly told us that China and Namibia are good friends and also close partners. And you mentioned your modernization and industrialization programs in Namibia, I think China will continue to support Namibia’s social and economic development to the best of our abilities. And indeed, a lot of things, a lot of projects are being discussed and are in the planning. So I think in future time, we will see more tangible results of our bilateral cooperation in all the areas. And for Minister Wang's visit, if I remember correctly, you asked about what issues will be touched during the visit. First, I want to say that his visit to Namibia will certainly be very important for our bilateral relationship because it will provide a very good opportunity for high-level discussion on the future development of China-Namibia relations. I really am not very sure what specific issues will be touched by our leaders during the visit. As we are implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Summit, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which was held in September in Beijing last year, so we are now implementing the outcomes of that summit and we are also implementing the consensus reached by our two presidents at their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the FOCAC Summit.

Blanche: Which included, among others, the possible exporting of mutton to China. China is quite a big market, and will be a boost for the Namibian economy, industry, and meat products industry, and a good thing for, as Ambassador explained, the diversification of our whole Namibian economy. So what is the latest in that regard, Excellency, in which you stated that it was a consensus of discussions between President Xi and President Mbumba on the sidelines of FOCAC?

Ambassador: Yeah, during this forthcoming visit by Mr. Wang Yi, the implementation of the outcomes of FOCAC Summit and our two presidents' meeting, I think, may be one of the issues that we will discuss during this meeting. And you mentioned that our two governments' agreement for China to import Namibia's mutton. That's indeed one of the achievements we have made during FOCAC Summit. And I just want to tell our Namibia friends, you know, China really wants to import more African products, I mean, Namibia products. That's not a problem for us at all. As you mentioned, we have a population of 1.4 billion people. And also, Chinese President Xi Jinping, has made it very clear during the FOCAC Summit. Actually, he announced that China will expand the market access for African agricultural products. So it's indeed encouraging news, I think, for the agricultural community of Namibia. And since 2019, we have been importing Namibian beef. Namibia was the first African country to export beef to China. And Namibian beef is very popular in China. But it's a little bit regrettable that our market demand seems to be always much larger than what Namibia can supply. And in addition to the mutton agreement, I also can share with you that our two governments are also discussing the issues for China to import Namibia's grape, red crabs, and other agricultural and aquatic products. I think we only need to sort out some technical issues. I believe these issues can be solved. No problem about that. Actually, I personally hope that China can import more such products from Namibia at an early date.

Blanche: Now, Excellency, Minister Wang Yi's visit here, he also agreed that it's quite significant. And all these positive developments in the two countries, as well as the investments by Chinese companies. Would Minister Wang Yi have time to visit or have talks with a partner from the Namibian leaders, also meet the Chinese community here in Namibia, both business and all the other Chinese nationals here, and also to take us through the Minister's program after meeting the two top leaders of Namibia?

Ambassador: I think, actually, it's a short visit. So I think because of the time limit, Minister Wang Yi this time will only focus on his discussions with the Namibian leaders.

Blanche: All right. And is there anything else you would like to add, Ambassador, with regard to Minister Wang Yi's visit to the Land of the Brave?

Ambassador: Yeah, I think I should emphasize again that China attaches great importance to China-Namibia relationship. Because we enjoy profound traditional friendship, and it dated back to the 1960s. So I think that's a very unique point of our bilateral relationship. And that's also a very unique asset of our bilateral relationship. And I think we can complement each other in a lot of ways. There's no problem at all in our bilateral relationship. So we have all the reason to forge ahead and achieve more. And also I think in the area of economic cooperation, there is very, very huge potential in our bilateral cooperation. A lot of Chinese companies, they believe in the potential of economic development here in Namibia. And they believe there will be a lot of opportunities for even greater China-Namibia economic cooperation. So I'm very much encouraged. And as ambassador here, I will work even harder to promote our friendship and our cooperation in all the areas.

Blanche: Now, Ambassador, what has been the secret? Given the developments in the geopolitical space currently, what has been the secret that Namibia and China has always held? You've already stated that the relations date back to the 60s, which is quite a long time, which means that they are solid. So what has been the ingredients to keep these relations intact? I am asking these questions against the backdrop of what the two countries would be celebrating their relations. I believe that’s  post-Namibian independence 35 years. So hence my question.  

Ambassador: I think one of the reasons why our bilateral relationship can be prosperous for so many years is that actually we share a lot of similar points. Although, you know, in terms of size, either population or territory, and in terms of our special national conditions, of course we have our own different situation, but actually we share a lot of common points. I think we share a lot of common language on major international and regional issues. And most importantly, I think we are both developing countries. Although, you know, economically we are ahead of Namibia, but China is still a developing country. So as developing countries, we have a lot of common interests to pursue together. And actually we also share some similar points in our history. You gained your independence in 1990. And China also once suffered foreign invasion in our history. So I think we can understand each other on a lot of issues, and that's very important. And the second point I want to say is that Namibian people are very good people. Your leaders mentioned China's support for your independence on a lot of occasions, and that touched me a lot. Namibian people are very good people, and Chinese people are also very good people. So I think we have a lot of common ground to move on in the future.

Blanche: Thank you so much, Excellency.