Namibia not “captured” by China: Chinese ambassador

RUNDU, 18 SEP – The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Namibia, Zhang Yiming says the perception that China has “captured” Namibia, is wrong.
Zhang said this at the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Prize Awarding Ceremony to three different schools in the Kavango East Region on Monday.
The Chinese Ambassador Scholarship was established last year with the aim of providing funds to 20 schools in Namibia to award the best performing learners to encourage them to study hard.
At the ceremony held in Rundu, Zhang awarded N.dollars 20 000 each to St Boniface College, Dr Romanus Kampungu Senior Secondary School and Noordgrens Senior Secondary School.
The Chinese ambassador said local people and the media have been saying that Namibia has been captured by China, which he said is the wrong perception about the relationship China has with Namibia.
He said China is in Namibia as a developmental partner for the country’s developmental needs.
“China is here as a friend, sincere, to help you with development and assist you with your developmental matters,” said Zhang.
He added that when he travelled to Divundu, he noticed that there is a Chinese business community presence in the area, “which can be attributed to hard work”.
Divundu is situated 200 kilometers east of Rundu.
Zhang said if his Chinese compatriots can be found in such areas, it means that they are working very hard to provide services to the local people.
He also encouraged the Chinese people in Namibia to be good residents and comply with the country’s laws and regulations.
“The majority of Chinese people here are good people; it is only a few of them that are painting a bad picture about the Chinese community in Namibia. There are always bad apples, but those bad apples never represent my country,” Zhang stressed.
The ambassador’s comments follow news that Namibia wants to borrow N.dollars 10 billion from China to fund infrastructure projects. – NAMPA