On 19 May 2026, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding attended the inauguration of the China-Zimbabwe Engineering Technology Academy and China-Zimbabwe Silk Road Teacher Capacity-Building Center at Harare Polytechnic, alongside Hon. Simelizezwe Sibanda, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development. Faculty and students from Harare Polytechnic and Ningbo Polytechnic University, as well as representatives of Chinese enterprises operating in Zimbabwe, were also in attendance. 

Ambassador Zhou congratulated the two newly established institutions and commended the substantial progress achieved in bilateral vocational education cooperation. He affirmed China’s commitment to further expanding vocational education exchanges, nurturing skilled technical workforce for Zimbabwe, and advancing the country’s industrialization and modernization agenda. The Ambassador also witnessed the founding of the Zimbabwe Alumni Association of Ningbo Polytechnic University, encouraging Zimbabwean students to align personal growth with national development priorities and promote friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation between the two nations.

Hon. Sibanda expressed gratitude for China’s long-standing support for Zimbabwe’s education cause, reaffirming the country’s readiness to deepen vocational education collaboration with China, which will bolster the delivery of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and help achieve targets under Vision 2030.