On 26 February 2026, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding handed over to President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa the reply letter from President Xi Jinping to veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. The handover ceremony was attended by Hon. Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Industry and Commerce; Hon. Monica Mavhunga, Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs; Hon. Webster Kotiwani Shamu, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and President of the Zimbabwe-China Parliamentary Friendship Association; as well as representatives of liberation struggle veterans.

Ambassador Zhou thanked the Zimbabwean side for holding the handover ceremony at the State House. He noted that President Xi’s reply letter carries profound significance and provides clear guidance for advancing the all-weather China-Zimbabwe partnership and the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. He expressed hope that the two sides will continue to translate their long-standing revolutionary friendship into a sustained driving force for deepening people-to-people bonds and practical cooperation.

President Mnangagwa fondly recalled his military training in China in the 1960s and read the reply letter aloud on the spot. He stated that Zimbabwe will always cherish China’s invaluable support during its national liberation struggle, and will guide the younger generation to carry forward the traditional friendship between the two countries and build the China-Zimbabwe and China-Africa community with a shared future.