A trip to Beijing last week by Zimbabwe's military chief was a "normal military exchange", China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, after the military in the southern African nation seized power. Zimbabwe's military took control targeting "criminals" around President Robert Mugabe but gave assurances on national television that the 93-year-old leader and his family were "safe and sound". General Constantino Chiwenga met Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan in Beijing on Friday, where Chang expressed a willingness to promote relations with Zimbabwe, China's Defence Ministry said in a short statement last week. "As a country that is friendly with Zimbabwe, we are paying close attention to developments of the situation in Zimbabwe," Geng added. China and Zimbabwe have a close diplomatic and economic relationship and Beijing has stood with Mugabe's government in the face of Western economic sanctions.

Source: The Star November 15, 2017 08:48 UTC