On 21 January 2025, the 2024 Awarding Ceremony of China-Zimbabwe Friendship Scholarship was held at the Chinese Embassy. Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding and Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Simelisizwe Sibanda addressed the event. 

    Ambassador Zhou noted that 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Zimbabwe, stressing that China stands ready to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Zimbabwe, strengthen cooperation in education, and support Zimbabwe’s educational development and talent cultivation. 

    Warmly congratulating the 52 scholarship recipients, the Chinese Ambassador encouraged them to seize the opportunities brought by studying the Chinese language and culture, and to make meaningful contributions to not only Zimbabwe’s modernization but also the enhancement of the enduring friendly partnership between China and Zimbabwe. 

    Expressing appreciation for what China has done over the years to assist Zimbabwe in its human resource development, Deputy Minister Sibanda thanked the Chinese Embassy for its unremitting efforts to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries. 

    Dr. Laston Mukaro highlighted the readiness of the Confucius Institute of the University of Zimbabwe to further promote the teaching of the Chinese language in Zimbabwe with a view to opening up prospects and opportunities for Zimbabwean youths.

    Many scholarship recipients articulated their determination to attain proficiency in the Chinese language and strive to become cultural ambassadors for strengthening the fraternal ties and substantiating exchanges and cooperation between Zimbabwe and China.