The Foreign Ministry denied yesterday that China and Zimbabwe were discussing a US$2 billion loan to stabilize Zimbabwe's economy.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "After seeing this news, we looked for confirmation with the relevant departments, and there is no such a deal."

Chris Mutsvangwa, the Zimbabwean ambassador to China, was quoted on Friday by The Herald, a Zimbabwean newspaper, as saying that his country had opened talks with China on the loan in a move to stabilize its economy.

Western media too ran the story allegedly without confirmation from the ambassador, and alluded to the baseless fact that China is attracted to Zimbabwe's mineral resources such as uranium and platinum to fuel its booming economy.

Such stories trigger concern among certain Western countries that China's influence in Africa goes against their interests, especially after the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation which was held last month in Beijing, said Liu Naiya, an Africa expert of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

"Actually, it is South-South Co-operation, or developing countries helping each other," Liu said.

The (Western countries) tend to think that what is not good for the West, is not good for the whole world, he said.

They impose sanctions on Zimbabwe believing its economic collapse would lead to political turmoil, and ultimately the stepping down of (President Robert) Mugabe and the formation of a new government, Liu said.

Some analysts say with inflation at more than 1,000 per cent and the unemployment rate above 60 per cent, Zimbabwe is experiencing its most difficult period since winning independence from the United Kingdom in 1980. The sanctions are believed to have greatly contributed to the hardship.

"While the people are living in an extremely difficult situation, Western countries refuse to lend a helping hand unless all of their conditions are met, said He Wenping, director of the African Studies Section at the CASS.

The West considers aid from China, which attaches no political conditions, as something which upsets their plans, she said.

Qin also said that Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing would make his first foreign trip of the new year to Africa, with stops in Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Botswana.

(China Daily 12/27/2006 page2)