Cross also alleged that the Chinese are looking to transfer environmentally polluting industries to Africa, seeking to capitalize on the continent’s natural resources while avoiding environmental constraints at home.

The former MDC MP further claimed that the exploitation of Zimbabwe’s raw materials by the Chinese began after the discovery of diamonds in Marange.

He said US$30 billion in raw diamonds has been produced between 2008 and the present day, benefiting only the Chinese and old Army Generals, while the people of Marange continue to live in poverty.

In response, Farai Marapira, the Director of Information and Publicity for ZANU PF, suggested that Cross’ comments were xenophobic.

He categorically rejected the claims made by Cross and warned economic commentators against undermining the country’s economic progress by attacking investors. Said Marapira:

They must be more objective in the assessment of issues. We have attacks coming from all and sometimes surprising people.

I will give an example of Eddie Cross. He wrote a full article and spent a lot of energy writing spurious lies, maliciously attacking the open door policy of the President, throwing in false figures, stating that we have 85,000 Chinese when we have only 25,000 and these are in the mining sector.

These are here at the behest of the President as he has stated that Zimbabwe is open for all.

So, these malicious attacks need to stop. These attacks are trying circumvent our natural progression which we are aspiring for as a people. They need to stop.

We cannot expect educated economists to be giving out articles which are less than bar talk or pillow talk.

Marapira also rejected Cross’ claim that Zimbabwe has 9 billion tonnes of untapped Chrome deposits worth a conservative US$100 trillion. He said:

Eddie Cross cannot defend the US$30 billion claim on diamonds he made… Eddie Cross cannot defend the ranking we put on our chrome deposits, he cannot do that.

So we need to stop developing thoughts of xenophobia. We need to welcome all who want to come and develop Zimbabwe with us.

Chinese companies are often accused of causing environmental damage, including deforestation, pollution of water bodies, and destruction of natural habitats.

Critics argue that Chinese investors are primarily interested in extracting Zimbabwe’s natural resources, such as gold, diamonds, and lithium, without adding value locally.

There has also been numerous reports of Chinese companies violating labour rights, including poor working conditions, low wages, and even instances of sexual abuse.

More: Pindula News