Governmental relations between the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Republic of Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

were first established the day after Namibia's independence, but relations with Namibian independence movements date back to the 1960s.Interpretation of China-Namibia Relations
in Foreign Ministry of the People's Republic of China

Chinese support for independence movements

Beginning in the 1960s, during the

Namibian War of Independence The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and An ...

, China provided various indigenous Namibian independence movements (at first

South West African National Union The South West Africa National Union (SWANU) is a Namibian political party founded in 1959. Most of its members came from the Herero people, while fellow independence movement SWAPO was mostly an Ovambo party. The party's president is Charles ...

(SWANU)) and later

South West Africa People's Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

(SWAPO) with "moral and material support".

China since Namibian independence

PR China and Namibia established relations on 22 March 1990, which was the day after Namibia's independence. The government of Namibia is an adherent to the

One-China policy The term One China may refer to one of the following: * The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legit ...

Economic relations

China and Namibia have developed close economic relations, with trade increasing two-fold between the two countries from 2003 to 2006.

Chinese development finance to Namibia

From 2000 to 2011, there are approximately 64 Chinese official development finance projects identified in Namibia through various media reports. During a February 2007 visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged Namibia "

RMB The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

1 billion of concessional loans, 100 million

US dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

s of preferential export buyer's credit, RMB 30 million yuan of grants and RMB 30 million of interest-free loans..." In November 2005, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohama and Chinese Politburo member Li Chang Chun witnessed the signing of a 250 million Yuan concessional loan by Export-Import Bank of China to be used for purchasing locomotives and trains for a new railway being built in northern Namibia.

Migration

A large number of Chinese are estimated to have taken up residence in Namibia since

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. In 2006, their number was estimated at 40,000.

An Yue Jiang scandal

In April 2008, a weapons shipment on the An Yue Jiang sailed from China destined for

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. It was stopped from porting in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

because of protests regarding the weapons and the disputed Zimbabwean presidential election which had taken place a month earlier. Seeking a destination for the ship, it was rumored that it would be port on Namibia's coast at

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

. On 24 April 2008, a protest took place in Namibia's capital of

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

, where two hundred protesters marched from a

Zoo Park Zoo Park is a public park on Independence Avenue in downtown Windhoek, Namibia. It is also a focal point of social life in the city

in central Windhoek to the Chinese embassy.Namibians say NO to arms
by Tanja Bause, ''

The Namibian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 25 April 2008 Among those leading the protesters were Bishop and SWAPO politician

Zephania Kameeta Zephania Kameeta (born 7 August 1945 in Otjimbingwe, Erongo Region) is a Namibian religious and political leader. Since March 2015, he has been the Namibian Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare. Religious work Kameeta studied at th ...

and the

Legal Assistance Centre The Legal Assistance Centre is a human rights organization in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The organization was established in 1988 during the apartheid era to litigate on behalf of people who were oppressed by the government and continues to ...

. The ship did not port in Namibia.

Bibliography

References

External links

China buys into Berg Aukas
New Era 14 January 2011
WikiLeaks: Namibia Allows Chinese Immigration to Repay Loans

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

, 15 December 2010
China eyes Namibia's minerals

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cult ...

, 9 April 2010
Graft Inquiry in Namibia Finds Clues in China
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 21 July 2009
No more Namibia: China blocks search results for entire country
OpenNet.net, 22 July 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:China-Namibia relations China, PR

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...