CHINA: Robert Mugabe may be a pariah in western nations these days but his image clearly remains untarnished in the eyes of Chinese diplomats, who yesterday named him an honorary professor.
Undismayed by criticism of Mr Mugabe's urban eviction programme, which the UN says has made 700,000 poor people homeless, Beijing's foreign affairs college instead hailed his "brilliant contribution" to diplomacy and international relations.
"[ Mr Mugabe] is a man of strong convictions, a man of great achievements, a man devoted to preserving world peace [ and] a good friend of the Chinese people," gushed An Yongyu, Communist party secretary of the Foreign Ministry-controlled college.
Such praise and the warm welcome given Mr Mugabe by Hu Jintao, China's president, underline Beijing's willingness to embrace leaders shunned in the West so as to build international influence and ensure access to resources.
At their meeting Mr Hu told Mr Mugabe that China and Zimbabwe were "sincere friends and trustworthy partners". Beijing planned to expand diplomatic co-operation with Mr Mugabe's government, Chinese state media quoted Mr Hu as saying before their joint signing of an economic co-operation agreement.
China signed a $600m (€499m) oil deal with President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan in May, shortly after he ordered a crackdown on demonstrators. It has also been expanding ties with Sudan, despite accusations that it has been involved in genocide. China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion credit line for Angola, which has a poor human rights record but is a major oil producer.