Embracing New Opportunities of China-Zambia Relations for Jointly Building a High-quality China-Africa Community with a Shared Future

2024-08-16 20:30

The moment I set foot on Zambia, I marveled at its breathtaking natural beauty and rich endowment, and I felt the gravity of my responsibilities as the 17th Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, appointed by H.E. President Xi Jinping, to make sure that a land of hope and opportunities like Zambia continue its strong partnership with my own country on all fronts possible.

I came here with the excitement of preparing for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). This coming September, Chinese and African leaders will gather again in Beijing to discuss ways to expand and deepen their friendly cooperation. Since the inception of the FOCAC in 2000, China has channeled resources and mobilized multiple financial instruments to bring real changes and benefits to the African people, by helping African countries build and upgrade more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of highways, 66,000 kilometers of power transmission and distribution lines, and power generation facilities with an installed capacity of 120 million kilowatts. The FOCAC now proudly stands as a leading platform that champions South-South cooperation and international cooperation with Africa. H.E. President Hakainde Hichilema will soon visit China again for the Summit he described as an important platform for promoting the development of African countries, and he expressed a readiness to work with the Chinese side to taking Africa-China cooperation to the next level as we work shoulder to shoulder to meet global challenges such as energy and food security and bring more certainty to a world of growing unpredictabilities. I look forward to a FOCAC Beijing Summit that will better shape our all-weather, all-dimensional and high-quality cooperation, and more importantly, offer more Chinese opportunities to Zambia as it explores its own path towards modernization based on its national realities.

I came here with the mission of jointly building a community with a shared future. President Hichilema’s historic State Visit to China last September produced extensive consensus between the two Heads of State, including the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. Since then, their consensus has been put into practice and translated into growing political mutual trust between the two sides and fruitful results in practical cooperation across the board, and this is the best way I can think of to celebrate the 60 years of our diplomatic ties. President Hichilema attended the China-Zambia High-Quality Development Forum and Technology Empowering Mining Development Forum, and commissioned major projects undertaken by Chinese businesses, including the dewatering of Shaft 28 of the Luanshya Copper Mines, the Chingola-Kasumbalesa Road, the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway and the Smart Village pilot project at Muchila. I thank the President for his trust, and I share his aspirations for an even more promising 60 years of China-Zambia cooperation, 60 years of greater creativity, solidarity and enterprise.

I came here with the passion for carrying forward our traditional friendship. Zambia was the first country in Southern Africa to establish diplomatic ties with China. The traditional friendship was forged by our founding fathers such as Chairman Mao Zedong and President Kenneth Kaunda. As an old Chinese saying goes, the pond can be crystal clear because there is always fresh water flowing inside from its source. Take a look back at where it all began. This friendship stemmed from the strong affinity that our people felt for each other and the heroic struggle we took up together for freedom and dignity. Before my departure, I studied the history of the construction of TAZARA back in the 1970s. It was extremely difficult, but we managed to put in place this railway of uhuru, friendship and development with sweat and blood. The seed of friendship our people sowed together has grown into a tall tree that would soon brim with fresh vitality with an ambitious revitalization plan. I am also deeply inspired by Dr. Vernon J. Mwaanga, the former Permanent Representative of Zambia to the UN and Foreign Minister of Zambia, who takes great pride in his efforts to push for the adoption of the UN Resolution 2758 to restore all China’s lawful rights in the UN. The fact that China-Zambia friendship takes its root deep in the heart of our people and flourishes on people-to-people exchanges explains why this relationship is capable of sustained growth after six decades.

China and Zambia are at the historical juncture where we need to work hand in hand to build a high-quality China-Africa community with a shared future as comprehensive strategic and cooperative partners. As I take up this important new position here, I have full confidence in the future of China-Zambia relations. I, together with my team from the Chinese Embassy here in Lusaka, stand ready to work with all sectors of this country to fulfill our duties to further promote the bilateral relations towards a direction that brings greater benefits to our people and set an example for China-Africa and South-South cooperation. 

The author is H.E. Han Jing, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia


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