Storyline: China has played a crucial role in Africa's development and is now seen as a "natural partner" as the continent positions itself to become a key energy supplier to power the coming artificial intelligence revolution, according to a senior Zimbabwean official. Christopher Mutsvangwa, spokesman for Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party, shared his perspective on how China's cooperation with Africa has evolved in recent years in an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Sunday. Mutsvangwa noted how China has contributed greatly to the continent's development through sharing its own infrastructural gains to help Africa expand its own local processing and manufacturing capabilities. Looking ahead, Mutsvangwa pointed to Africa's unrivaled potential as a key energy supplier for the fast-growing artificial intelligence sector, emphasizing the continent's ability to provide the affordable green power which is needed to fuel global AI data centers. Shotlist: FILE: Harare, Zimbabwe - Jan 13, 2020: 1. Various of cityscape 2. National flag of Zimbabwe FILE: Beijing, China - Sept 3, 2024: 3. National flags of China, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe - Oct 26, 2025: 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Mutsvangwa, spokesman, ZANU-PF party (partially overlaid with shots 5-9): "China has led by good example. It has democratized the access of capital to Africa. It has also made it possible for Africa's minerals to begin to fetch top dollar on the global market, but also to get the best possible geological technology along the way and in the process also begin to reward Africa with the processing of those minerals. So, Africans are moving up the value chain. So, it has endeavored to share its infrastructure dividend, which is unparalleled in human history. China's achievements in the domain of infrastructure are just mind boggling, and had it not been for China's remarkable advances in digital telephony, Africa would still be in the backwaters." FILE: Africa - Exact Date and Location Unknown: [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 5. Train running 6. Various of passengers getting on train 8. Various of river dam, monitoring station 9. Various of bridge [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 10. Sign of demonstration center of China agricultural technology 11. Class on agricultural technology in progress 12. Various of Chinese expert chatting with African agricultural personnel 13. Various of Chinese expert picking chili peppers with African farmers 14. Various of African farmers examining fruits Zimbabwe - Oct 26, 2025: 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Mutsvangwa, spokesman, ZANU-PF party (starting with shot 14/partially overlaid with shot 16): "The most important areas will be the ones which anticipate the explosion in artificial intelligence. Already the demand for power alone to drive those data processing centers for artificial intelligence is a huge amount of power. And there's probably no continent now which has got as big a potential as Africa in terms of the ability to supply power at an affordable price for the huge processing prowess which will be required. So, it's almost unthinkable to talk of the future of new energy without factoring in Africa. And China becomes a natural partner because it has put so much research and took a leading position in all these areas." FILE: Harare, Zimbabwe - Date Unknown: [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 16. Traffic; pedestrians [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: Harare, Zimbabwe - Nov 20, 2017: 17. National flag of Zimbabwe (L); flag of Zanu-PF (R) FILE: Harare, Zimbabwe - Oct 25, 2017: 18. Cityscape. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]