Amid the turmoil and violence that has followed Zimbabwe’s elections and the announcement of the contested results handing victory to incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man known on the streets as “the crocodile” has had one unambiguous foreign backer.

China was quick to describe the election as “peaceful and orderly” and called on all sides to ensure stability after six people were killed in street protests. On Friday Beijing spoke out again, calling for the “choice made by the people of Zimbabwe” to be respected.

They were views at odds with European Union observers, who had raised concerns about the poll before violence broke out, and with the opposition MDC, which rejected the results as rigged.

An opposition press conference in Harare was later broken up by police, a move Mnangagwa admitted violated constitutional rights to freedom of speech.

Beijing has close economic and diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe at an official level, as the largest foreign investor after years of western sanctions.

But its leadership also has deep personal links with Mnangagwa, who had been Robert Mugabe’s right hand man and enforcer until he took control of the country after a coup last November.

The new president first visited China as a young freedom fighter half a century ago for guerrilla training. Both sides nourished that early connection and years later Mnangagwa sent his son to study in China, although on a more conventional university course.

In recent years Mnangagwa had been seen as more business-friendly and pragmatic than many other senior figures in the ruling Zanu-PF party, attractive features to a Chinese government keen to protect investments ranging from mobile phone networks to hydropower and tobacco.

He even visited Beijing shortly before the coup against Mugabe, leading to speculation that he had sought out the blessing of officials there for the leadership change, although China describe the trip as a “normal military exchange”.

Once installed as interim president, one of Mnangagwa’s first foreign trips was to Beijing, where his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping greeted him as an “old friend”. He made clear in an interview that he hoped to tap into Chinese financial resources, expertise and modern technology.

A few months earlier China had signed a $153m (£118m) loan to expand and update Harare’s international airport, a move aimed at bolstering tourism and investment.

However the management of this election, and years as Mugabe’s enforcer, also suggest a ruthless determination to hold onto power, and raises the question of whether the Zimbabwean leader sees in China not only the possibility of economic salvation but a political path forward for his country.

The Chinese communist party, led by Xi Jinping, has committed to fostering rapid economic growth, while maintaining an iron grip on political power. It may be an example a Mnangagwa would like to emulate.