hinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Sunday that China fully supports the just call by Zimbabwe and African countries to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe as soon as possible.

Wang made the remarks during a joint press conference held in the Zimbabwean capital Harare with Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo.

“The unilateral sanctions imposed by some countries and organizations on Zimbabwe have no basis in international law and they violate the legitimate development rights and interests of Zimbabwe,” Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, told reporters in Harare. “China fully supports the just aspirations of Zimbabwe and African countries to remove those sanctions on Zimbabwe.”

The U.S. has imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe’s ruling party officials and their related businesses since 2001, citing a lack of human rights reforms and restrictions on press freedom.

China is Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner and has invested heavily in the country’s infrastructure. Wang is on a two-day visit to Zimbabwe as part of an African tour that has already taken him through Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea and Burundi.