Chinese supervisors employ different motivational methods than white counterparts.
Police said that the Chinese executives opened fire on workers protesting against poor pay and conditions at the Collum coal mine in the southern Sinazongwe province on Friday.
Eleven people were admitted to hospital with wounds to the stomachs, hands and legs, and two are understood to remain in a critical condition.
A Foreign Ministry official in Beijing said that the shooting was a “mistake” but the incident has fueled demands to curb China’s overwheening position in mine investments.
The Patriotic Front, a leading opposition party, is campaigning for elections next year on platform of restricting Chinese investment until conditions are improved.
“We know we can’t be protected by this government because it has been heavily corrupted by the Chinese for the 2011 elections and the current by-elections,” said Michel Sata, the PF’s leader nicknamed King Cobra for his combatative stance.