A decision by the Zimbabwean government to “Look East” to China to circumvent pressure from the west to reform has done little, apart from putting the country in debt to Chinese lenders – who reportedly now want their money back.The first indication of a change in policy came from an October 2019 statement. This was revealed by ZANU PF MP Kindness Paradza who told the Zimbabwean parliament that "the President has changed our foreign policy, he is no longer looking East but is looking everywhere."China has been looking elsewhere for some time, it seems. According to the United Nations Comtrade database, in 2018 China supplied just 5.7% of the value of Zimbabwe’s imports, to the value of US$ 358 million – down from US$433 m in 2017. With China having its own financial challenges and the lack of traction in the relationship, it seems that the relationship is becoming strained.The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) predicts “China will remain concerned about Zimbabwe's repayment capacity and actual Chinese lending may well fall short of the pledged commitments”.