China 'deeply saddened' over death of 'outstanding' leader Mugabe - foreign ministry

Record ID: 1430258

  • Title: China 'deeply saddened' over death of 'outstanding' leader Mugabe - foreign ministry
  • Date: 6th September 2019
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 6, 2019) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GENG SHUANG ARRIVING AT REGULAR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GENG SHUANG, SAYING: "Mr. Mugabe was an outstanding liberation movement leader and statesman for Zimbabwe who spent his (entire) life defending his country's independence. He opposed foreign interference and promoted friendly cooperation and relations between both China and Zimbabwe and China and Africa. We are deeply saddened by his passing and express sincere sympathies to the Zimbabwean people, government and to Mr. Mugabe's family." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2019 09:55
  • Keywords: Mugabe Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe Chinese foreign ministry Geng Shuang China-Zimbabwe relations
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AVIQ0QV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: China expressed its deep sadness on Friday (September 6) over the death of Robert Mugabe, calling the former Zimbabwe President an "outstanding liberation movement leader".
    Mugabe, the guerrilla leader who led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980, died aged 95 on Friday, two years after the army brought an ignominious end to almost four decades of his iron-fisted rule.
    Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China expresses its "sincere sympathies to the Zimbabwean people, government and to Mr. Mugabe's family."
    China's friendship with Mugabe dates back to Zimbabwe's independence struggle, which China supported. Mugabe visited China numerous times, including in January 2017 when President Xi Jinping told him: "China will never forget its old friends."
    However when Mugabe was ousted from power in November 2017 with the country's economy in ruins, China pointedly failed to offer any open support for him, instead saying it respected his decision to resign as president and that he remained a "good friend" of China's.
    (Production: Wang Shubing, Martin Pollard)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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