Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti is between rocks and a hard place – he risks angering the Chinese government if he boycotts upcoming talks in Beijing on a controversial credit deal China recently offered Zimbabwe, but Zimbabwe officials are calling China's offer a "rip-off" and a "raw deal."

According to timeslive.co.za, China has offered to lend Zimbabwe $3 billion though the Export-Import Bank of China, in exchange for control of the country's platinum reserves – valued at $40 billion – and revenue from the Chiadzwa diamond deposits.

Zimbabwe is eager to revitalize its stumbling economy, and China is already an economic player in the country, mining diamonds (including sites in the Marange diamond fields), gold, coal, and chrome. Chinese investors also operate farms and commercial enterprises in Zimbabwe, and has extended Zimbabwe credit to purchase agro-chemicals, farming equipment, and tools. China has also provided military equipment and ammunition.

An unnamed Asian diplomat told the Sunday Times that Biti considers China's offer a "raw deal," but said that talks were ongoing.

Meanwhile, government officials in Zimbabwe oppose the terms of the Chinese offer. A government official accused China of seeking to "railroad Zimbabwe" because it saw the African country as "flat broke and desperate."