From June 23 to 25, 2017, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming visited Zimbabwe, met with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi of Zimbabwe, exchanging in-depth views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

Zhang Ming said that China and Zimbabwe are good friends, good partners and good brothers through thick and thin and sharing weal and woe, with traditional friendship between the two countries standing the test of time and international vicissitudes. At present, China-Zimbabwe friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation is embracing two major historical opportunities brought by the implementation of the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the successful convening of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF). China is willing to work with Zimbabwe to deepen traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust, share the Silk Road spirit, integrate development strategies and promote the outcomes of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and the "Belt and Road" initiative for effective implementation in Zimbabwe, so as to benefit the two peoples.

The Zimbabwean side expressed that the traditional friendship of the two countries enjoys a long history, and remains fresh as time goes by. Zimbabwe is gratified with the development status quo of bilateral relations, and feels exhilarated by the cooperation opportunities with China brought by the current implementation of the outcomes of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and the “Belt and Road” initiative. The country is willing to join efforts with China in constantly deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in such areas as infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and others, in a bid to elevate bilateral relations to new highs.