On February 27, 2025, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding gave a lecture to the faculty and students of Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China's foreign policy.  ZNDU Vice Chancellor and Commandant AVM Michael Tedzani Moyo and senior military officers from Zimbabwe and other African countries were in attendance.

Ambassador Zhou expounded on the essential components of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy as well as the connotation and significance of the BRI. Citing examples of the gratifying achievements made by China and African countries, including Zimbabwe, he elaborated on the bright prospects of the implementation of the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the "Three Global Initiatives". He also had an engaging discussion with the ZNDU students on international and regional hotspot issues after the lecture.

AVM Moyo and the audience highly commended China for its valuable support for the socio-economic development of Zimbabwe and Africa as well as its contributions to world peace and security, expressing their gratitude to Ambassador Zhou for his informative and insightful lecture. They articulated their hope that the joint efforts to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future would yield more fruitful results.

Ambassador Zhou also granted a joint interview at ZNDU to Zimbabwean news media outlets.