Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses opportunities and challenges in Zimbabwe's 'Look East' policy as well as strategies needed to help the country reap maximum benefits from its policy, to keep the new investors accountable and to avoid building a new form of dependency on its South-South partners.

Paper long abstract:

The Zimbabwean government has increasingly emphasised expanding bilateral investment and trade relations with the rapidly growing economies of Eastern countries like China, Malaysia and Singapore in what has come to be referred to as the 'Look East' policy since the post-2000 political standoff with the European Union, the United States and Canada and the subsequent imposition of travel and trade restrictions on the country. Zimbabwe's 'Look East' policy has focused on the strengthening of economic relations with China through increased Chinese capital and trade investments in the key sectors of mining, agriculture and infrastructural development.

This paper discusses opportunities and challenges in the Zimbabwean government's 'Look East' policy, and argues that Zimbabwe has not fully benefitted from its new economic relationships because it has not strategically thought-through its policy. It argues that the global financial crisis has weakened established global economic systems and created a window of opportunity for developing countries like Zimbabwe that have diverse resources to deploy economic policies which will ensure the levelling of the economic playing field through strategic leveraging. The East-West rivalry over resources and markets has created opportunities for such countries to negotiate better economic deals that can help them to reap maximum benefits from new investment and trade deals. What is required is innovative economic strategies to avoid building a new form of dependency on a new metropolitan and to keep the new investors accountable. The paper suggests strategies to help the country reap maximum benefits from its Look East policy