Sanctioned but Standing: Expert Explains How Western Bullying Pushed Zimbabwe East—Toward China and Russia
Sanctioned but Standing: Expert Explains How Western Bullying Pushed Zimbabwe East—Toward China and Russia
Despite years of Western sanctions, Zimbabwe’s economy has endured by leaning on its agro-mineral base and reorienting foreign policy eastward.
As political analyst Lazarus Sauti explained in an interview with Sputnik Africa, Zimbabwe is “an agro-based economy” where “70% of food consumed in Zimbabwe is being produced by small order farmers,” alongside a mining sector that sustains livelihoods.
Facing pressure from sanctions, Harare adopted a “Look East” policy, engaging China and Russia to cushion the blow, the expert said. Sauti was blunt about the politics behind the penalties:
“The West is bullying smaller countries like Zimbabwe,” he said, calling sanctions “a bullying tactic used by powerful countries to silence smaller countries in the Global South.”
China and Russia, he adds, have been pivotal—investing in mining and defending Zimbabwe at the UN Security Council, blocking invasion talks.
The lesson for Africa, according to the analyst? Reduce dependence on the Global North, expand intra-African trade, and pursue fair trade over aid—because resilience, not submission, is the path forward.
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