Mining Weekly states that the Zimbabwe government has turned to Chinese firms to invest in Zimbabwean mines, despite the unrest there.

Zimbabwe recently appealed to world leaders to help rebuild its devastated economy. According to government sources, the country needs $10 billion to reconstruct its dilapidated infrastructure and build up employment opportunities in a country which currently has a 90% unemployment rate.

Zimbabwe's deputy ambassador in Beijing, Taonga Mushayavanhu, appealed to Chinese companies attending a mining conference to invest in his country, which has deposits of platinum, gold and diamonds, among other minerals.

Mushayavanhu stated: "Now we have stability and security. The government of Zimbabwe recognizes the importance of the diamond mining industry in its economic recovery program and realizes that the economic turnaround cannot be possible without foreign investment. That's the reason why we are talking to you - trying to entice you to come in. There are better opportunities at this stage than down the road when competition is much stiffer."

A fragile coalition was formed in February between Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF with the aim of ending a decade of economic ruin.

The Beijing government and Chinese companies have pledged tens of billions of dollars to Africa in loans and investments, mostly to secure raw materials for the world's fastest-growing major economy.

China's trade with Africa has leaped by an average 30% a year during the past decade, reaching nearly $107 billion in 2008.

Tsvangirai recently stated that Zimbabwe had secured $950 million in credit from China to help rebuild its economy, the largest offer from a single country since the unity government was formed. However, Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti denied that an agreement had been reached with China regarding the credit line.