In July 2022, the Standard newspaper (Zimbabwe) reported that it had received threats from the Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe, including a threat that the embassy would take unspecified ‘strong countermeasures’ against it. The threats, which were also directed towards the Information for Development Trust ('IDT', a US-based NGO), came after The Standard released an exposé on ‘rampant abuse of workers at Chinese-owned coal mines’ in Zimbabwe. The exposé was the product of a month-long investigation by The Standard in collaboration with the IDT. The exposé highlighted allegations of assault at mines owned by Zhong Jian Investments P/L and the Zimbabwe ZhongXin Coking Company (ZZCC). The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe has described the embassy’s threat as an attack on press freedom, commenting that the unspecified nature of the ‘countermeasures’ is ‘a concern- particularly coming from a global powerhouse in the mold of China’.