A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday confirmed that a Chinese financial institution was in discussions with Zimbabwe on providing loans.

Spokesman Qin Gang did not specify which bank or department was in talks or the value of the loans.

The Chinese government supports the Zimbabwean coalition government's strive for the state's economic recovering and development and has offered some assistance within its own capability, Qin noted.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said earlier this week that his financial minister had negotiated a 950 million U.S. dollar deal with China.

The Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), led by President Robert Mugabe, also sent a delegation to China last month.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)