China |
Namibia |
People's Republic of China–Namibia relations refer to the bilateral relations between to the People's Republic of China and Republic of Namibia. Governmental relations were first established the day after Namibia's independence, but relations with Namibian independence movements date back to the 1960s.[1]
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Beginning in the 1960s, during the Namibian War of Independence, China provided various indigenous Namibian independence movements (at first South West African National Union (SWANU)[2] and later South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) with "moral and material support".[1]
PR China and Namibia established relations on 22 March 1990, which was the day after Namibia's independence.[1] The government of Namibia is an adherent to the One-China policy.[3]
China and Namibia have developed close economic relations, with trade increasing two-fold between the two countries from 2003-2006. During a February 2007 visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged Namibia "RMB 1 billion of concessional loans, 100 million US dollars of preferential export buyer's credit, RMB 30 million yuan of grants and RMB 30 million of interest-free loans..."[1]
A large number of Chinese are estimated to have taken up residence in Namibia since independence. In 2006, their number was estimated at 40,000.[4]
In April 2008, a weapons shipment on the An Yue Jiang sailed from China destined for Zimbabwe. It was stopped from porting in South Africa because of protests regarding the weapons and the disputed Zimbabwean presidential election which had taken place a month earlier. Seeking a destination for the ship, it was rumored that it would be port on Namibia's coast at Walvis Bay. On 24 April 2008, a protest took place in Namibia's capital of Windhoek, where two hundred protesters marched from a Zoo Park in central Windhoek to the Chinese embassy.[5] Among those leading the protesters were Bishop and SWAPO politician Zephania Kameeta and the Legal Assistance Centre.[5] The ship did not port in Namibia.
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