Author: Zhu Lixin.

Confronted with development challenges, country puts out call for investment Zimbabwe is attempting to bolster its economy by inviting Chinese investors to participate in its ailing but recovering agricultural sector and to help get its light industry off the ground. Once considered the breadbasket of Africa, the former British colony has suffered recurring food shortages for years since its independence from Britain in 1980. Food insecurity has been dire because "about 70 percent of the population depend on agriculture for sustenance", says Major General Douglas Nyikayaramba, in the country's Ministry of Defense, during an investment conference in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province.