HARARE, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding has reaffirmed China's support for Zimbabwe's economic and social development, as the southern African country seeks to attain an upper-middle-income economy under its Vision 2030.

Zhou made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday after a seminar organized by the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe and the Southern African Research and Documentation Center, a Zimbabwe-based think tank, in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

Amid rising global uncertainties, Zhou said China's upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan will provide not only continuity and stability for China's own development, but also valuable opportunities and confidence for the international community and global partners, including Zimbabwe.

"China's 15th Five-Year Plan provides huge opportunities and potential for Zimbabwe's economic and social development, as we have always done for Zimbabwe in the past five years. The Chinese investment in Zimbabwe has increased significantly, and the trade between us has increased significantly," Zhou said.

As China implemented its 14th Five-Year Plan and Zimbabwe pursued its National Development Strategy 1 over the past five years, remarkable achievements in China-Zimbabwe bilateral cooperation have been witnessed, said Zhou.

"Last year, the trade volume (between China and Zimbabwe) reached 3.8 billion U.S. dollars. With the new five-year plan, we have the potential to even double our trade and investment volume," he said.

Cooperation can be further strengthened in areas such as infrastructure development, food security and power generation, said Zhou.

"Zimbabwe is a land rich in natural resources, land, and solar, a lot of sunshine. In the past several years, Chinese companies have invested significantly in the solar sector and also in Zimbabwe's digital transformation. In the next five years, I think Zimbabwe will benefit hugely from Chinese companies' expertise," added Zhou.

Zimbabwe also stands to benefit from China's zero-tariff policy for African products, a strategic policy specifically designed to facilitate African countries' exports to the vast Chinese market, said Zhou.

"I believe that this will not just play a role in increasing Zimbabwe's exports to China, but also help strengthen the local value chain, to enhance Zimbabwe's value addition and the beneficiation of its mineral resources," Zhou said.

According to the Chinese ambassador, human resource development is the cornerstone of Zimbabwe's socio-economic progress, and China has accordingly prioritized it as a key area of cooperation.

In the past five years, over 2,000 government, party officials, and professionals have received training in China through specialized seminars, workshops, and capacity-building programs, said Zhou. Enditem