By: David Shoombe
In a conversation with Eagle FM, the ambassador of China to Namibia, Zhao Weiping, has reflected on the Namibia-China relations for the past five years, saying a lot has been achieved through bilateral cooperation.
He said that in the 1960s, China began providing support for Namibia’s independence. “The political relations have always been close.”
In 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Namibian President Hage Geingob agreed to establish the China-Namibia Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, a high level trade and economic cooperation.
China has been a major trading partner for Namibia for many years, with minerals dominating the two countries’ trade exchange, and it has also become the largest investor in Namibia.
Through the partnership, 9 schools were built, one of which is the Namibia National Youth Training Center.
While bigger projects include the new airport road construction.
TRADE VALUE
In 2025, so far, the trade volume is over N$2 billion, making China the third largest trading partner for Namibia after South Africa and the EU.
So far, Namibia exports mainly mineral resources and agricultural products.
Namibia is the first country to export beef to China.
Through a FAO programme, eight Chinese agricultural experts are training the local farming community and providing advice to the Minister of Agriculture in additional areas.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
The Ambassador indicated that China is one of the leading countries in terms of science and technology.
Every year, 200 opportunities are afforded to Namibians related to science and technology, which provide the platform to support capacity building here.
China has also donated a satellite data receiving system to help Namibia improve its remote sensing data capacity.
The Forum of China-Africa Cooperation has been one of the multilateral mechanisms that China engages with Africa to deepen China-Africa cooperation.
The Namibia International Trade Statistics of July indicate that the top exported product by Namibia is Uranium, which covers 26% of total exports.
