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When one of the architects of Zimbabwe’s low-key coup landed in Beijing last week he was met by two of the most senior members of the world’s largest military force.

Zimbabwe, Chiwenga told his host, was “willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields with China to promote the rapid development of bilateral state and military relations between the two countries”.

Analysis Tactical error leaves weakened Mugabe facing end of an era
Under house arrest, the longtime leader could resist, negotiate, or follow the instructions of Zimbabwe’s new masters
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Geng also tried to scotch speculation that after his sacking last week, Mnangagwa had fled to China, where he is reported to have received military training in the past.

Zimbabwe, Chiwenga told his host, was “willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields with China to promote the rapid development of bilateral state and military relations between the two countries”.

Analysis Tactical error leaves weakened Mugabe facing end of an era
Under house arrest, the longtime leader could resist, negotiate, or follow the instructions of Zimbabwe’s new masters
Read more
Geng also tried to scotch speculation that after his sacking last week, Mnangagwa had fled to China, where he is reported to have received military training in the past.

When one of the architects of Zimbabwe’s low-key coup landed in Beijing last week he was met by two of the most senior members of the world’s largest military force.

The Global Times predicted that the west – given its hostility to Mugabe – was “likely to turn a blind eye to this crisis”.

The Global Times predicted that the west – given its hostility to Mugabe – was “likely to turn a blind eye to this crisis”.

“China and Zimbabwe are all-weather friends,” the head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), General Constantine Guveya Chiwenga, was told by Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a defence ministry report.

Zimbabwe, Chiwenga told his host, was “willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields with China to promote the rapid development of bilateral state and military relations between the two countries”.

Shen said Beijing would respect Zimbabwe’s “own attitudes” towards the crisis.

Zimbabwe, Chiwenga told his host, was “willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all fields with China to promote the rapid development of bilateral state and military relations between the two countries”.

On Wednesday, as the 93-year-old strongman president was placed under house arrest in Harare, the foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang claimed Chiwenga’s visit had been part of “a normal military exchange”.

Little else is known about why Chiwenga, who is seen as an ally of Zimbabwe’s ousted vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, made the call on the Chinese capital, just days before the army chief would declare that the military was ready to “step in” over Robert Mugabe’s purge of the ruling party.

Mugabe’s downfall was “a pity” since “he was the leader and hero of national independence and such a situation has come late in his life … However, the Chinese government has [a policy of] non-interference in Africa’s internal affairs.”

Li Zuocheng, a rising star in China’s 2.3 million-member military, reportedly enjoys close ties to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

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China, which has backed Mugabe since the anti-colonial struggle of the 1970s, is also now Harare’s largest foreign investor, pumping huge sums into the Zimbabwean economy in exchange for natural resources and agricultural products such as diamonds and tobacco.

“Who knows what really is happening – but it certainly is eye-popping … the timing [of the visit] does raise questions,” said Van Staden, from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

“The securocrats who have seized power have had close and profitable relations with Beijing and would wish this to continue,” said Taylor, an international relations professor at the University of St Andrews.

“Chinwenga’s visit was arranged long ago, so it’s impossible he visited China over this matter,” he said.

“China and Zimbabwe are all-weather friends,” the head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), General Constantine Guveya Chiwenga, was told by Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a defence ministry report.

Mugabe’s downfall was “a pity” since “he was the leader and hero of national independence and such a situation has come late in his life … However, the Chinese government has [a policy of] non-interference in Africa’s internal affairs.”

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China, which has backed Mugabe since the anti-colonial struggle of the 1970s, is also now Harare’s largest foreign investor, pumping huge sums into the Zimbabwean economy in exchange for natural resources and agricultural products such as diamonds and tobacco.

However, there were hints from Chinese media and analysts on Thursday that Beijing was indeed comfortable with the end of Mugabe’s 37-year reign.

Taylor suggested Beijing was likely to do the same: “The Chinese are very pragmatic.”