Zimbabweans mourn Mugabe in Harare on September 12 (XINHUA)

Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe passed away at the age of 95 in a hospital in Singapore on September 6. On that day, the Zimbabwean Government declared him a national hero, saying the country will mourn him until he is laid to rest. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa called him "a father, mentor, comrade-in-arms and my leader." A delegation headed by Vice President Kembo Mohadi flew to Singapore and took back Mugabe's body. On September 14, a state funeral was held in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The Chinese Government conveyed its condolences to the Zimbabwean Government. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a condolence message to his Zimbabwean counterpart Mnangagwa over the death of Mugabe. Xi said Mugabe's passing is a huge loss to the Zimbabwean people, and China has also lost an old friend and a good friend. On September 12, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan went to the Zimbabwean Embassy in China to mourn the death of the former Zimbabwean president.

Mugabe was the founding executive pre­sident of Zimbabwe who shared the common traits of African leaders of the old generation in the struggle for national independence and emancipation from colonialism, and was committed to working for African solidarity and unification. He made great contributions to the improvement of China-Africa and China-Zimbabwe relations.

A freedom fighter

Mugabe was one of the forerunners in the movements of African independence. Starting from the 1950s to 1960s, he was involved in the cause of Zimbabwean independence.

Born in Kutama near Harare, Zimbabwe (called Southern Rhodesia before independence) on February 21, 1924, Mugabe studied in a missionary school in his childhood. In 1949, he went to South Africa to study in the University of Fort Hare. Founded in 1916, the university was the only institution of higher learning in South Africa that admitted black students. Many black youths who later became leaders in African independence movements, including Nelson Mandela, studied there. It was during that period that Mugabe was influenced by black nationalism and joined the African National Congress in South Africa.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university in 1951, Mugabe worked as a teacher in Zambia and Ghana, and came back to Zimbabwe in 1960, devoting himself to the struggle for national independence. He joined the Zimbabwe Aswfrican People's Union (ZAPU). After ZAPU was suppressed by the white administration of Rhodesia, he formed the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). ZANU led Zimbabwean people to hold strikes, protests and demonstrations to press the colonialist administration.

At the end of 1963, Mugabe was arrested for his "subversive remarks" and imprisoned for 11 years. But he didn't lose his spirit while in prison. In order to prepare for Zimbabwean independence, he studied with unremitting willpower and obtained a Master's Degree in Law and a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of London through correspondence education.

At the end of 1974, Mugabe was freed and continued to lead armed struggles for independence. In addition, he went to different places to gather international support. He visited China, the USSR, east European countries, Vietnam, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Cuba for moral and material support.

In September 1979, Mugabe led a ZANU delegation to London to negotiate with the colonial government of Rhodesia. The intensive, three-month negotiations resulted in the Lancaster House Agreement, according to which, democratic elections would be held in Zimbabwe, and Mugabe agreed to reserving 20 percent of seats of the country's parliament for whites. He also committed to solve the land problems through land purchases and agreed not to launch land reform within 10 years (1980-90).

The first general election without consideration of race or color was held in Zimbabwe in February 1980. ZANU PF won the election and Mugabe became the first prime minister of Zimbabwe. On April 18, the Republic of Zimbabwe was born, and the national power, which had been dominated by white people for 89 years, was transferred to African people. In 1987, Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe, and was reelected president in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2013. In November 2017, Mugabe resigned due to opposition from the party ZANU PF.

After Zimbabwe's independence, Mugabe adopted flexible and pragmatic policies suitable for Zimbabwean national conditions by learning the experience and lessons of governance from other newly independent African countries. Thanks to his efforts in promoting national reconciliation, developing mixed economy and attracting foreign investment, Zimbabwe made great achievements in economic development in the 1980s, with annual economic growth exceeding 4 percent, three times the average growth of Africa during the same period. Zimbabwe set an example for African development and was known as the "bread basket" of Southern Africa. Mugabe also won unprecedented international recognition. In 1990, the UK-based New African magazine honored him as the most outstanding leader in Africa.

After 2000, in order to solve the land problems in Zimbabwe, Mugabe did not hesitate to confront the Western countries, and Zimbabwe had to suffer from severe economic sanctions. He was strongly against Western countries' interference in African affairs. After learning about the passing of Mugabe, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed him as a liberation fighter and champion of Africa's fight against colonialism.

A promoter of friendship

Mugabe visited China many times, with his last state visit to China being in August 2014, and made outstanding contributions to China-Africa and China-Zimbabwe friendship. Despite the changes on the international stage, Mugabe stuck to the friendship policy toward China and stood firmly with China on such issues as the Taiwan question, human rights and Tibet.

In 2002, Zimbabwe adopted the Look East policy and set its eyes on Asian countries represented by China, aiming to break the Western stranglehold. It actively developed political and economic relations with Asian countries such as China, India, Iran, Malaysia and Thailand. The Look East policy was not only a way for the Mugabe Government to get out of a diplomatic dilemma, but also a recognition of China's development model. It further deepened China-Zimbabwe cooperation.

When the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in South Africa in December 2015, Mugabe, who was the chairperson of the African Union, expressed his support to China. At the opening ceremony of the summit, he thanked China for the 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans for the next three years, believing that the plans were of great significance and long expected by African countries.

In his later stage in power, owing to the long-standing sanctions from the Western countries, Zimbabwe encountered difficulties in its economic development, including high inflation and high unemployment. This shows that economic development and improvement of people's lives are still the major tasks for many African countries. In this context, boosting China-Africa cooperation is the greatest external opportunity for Africa's development. As President Xi pointed out, "The Chinese side che­rishes its brotherly traditional friendship with Zimbabwe, and is willing to work with the Zimbabwean Government and people to continue broadening and deepening cooperation between the two sides in all areas, and push for the constant development of the China-Zimbabwe comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation."

(The author is the director of the Center for African Studies of Shanghai Normal University)

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