Speech by Ambassador Han Jing at the Reception Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China, the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Zambia and H.E. President Hakainde Hichilema’s Attendance at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC

2024-09-27 23:00

(Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre, 26 September 2024)

Your Honour Vice President Mutale Nalumango,

Honourable Ministers, government officials,

Excellencies, representatives of the diplomatic corps and international organizations,

Fellow Chinese compatriots,

Friends from the media,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Her Honour Vice President Mutale Nalumango and all of you today to this reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Zambia. This is also my first National Day reception as the 17th Chinese Ambassador to Zambia. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all Chinese compatriots here, and my heartfelt thanks to Zambian friends from all walks of life, who have long supported China’s development and China-Zambia friendship.

H.E. President Hichilema paid a successful visit to China earlier this month to attend the 2024 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. During the visit, the two heads of states took stock of the journey of China-Zambia friendship in the past 60 years and reached extensive important consensus on cooperation across the board by drawing a blueprint to advance modernization with joint efforts. This visit has opened a new chapter in our joint endeavours to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, and will be remembered as another milestone in China-Zambia relations.

Mrs. Vice President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

75 years ago, the People’s Republic of China was founded. Over the 75 years, Chinese people of all ethnic groups have, united and led by the Communist Party of China, industrialized the country in a relatively short period of time,  compared with hundreds of years spent on similar processes by the Western developed countries. For the Chinese people, the past 75 years was an epic journey from poverty to prosperity, a process to work miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability at the same time, and a great leap from barely standing on its own foot, to gaining wealth and eventually gaining strength.  

H.E. President Hichilema visited China twice in a span of one year. These trips to China took him to different locations of the country. In Shannxi Province, he explored the splendour of the Chinese civilization. In Jiangxi Province, he retraced the path taken by the Red Army led by the CPC when it fought heroically to free China from shackles. In Guangdong and Fujian, he witnessed how myriad changes took place as a result of the reform and opening-up policy. In Xinjiang Autonomous Region, he found people of different ethnic groups working together for a better life as brothers and sisters. He expressed a readiness to learn from China’s experience and bring more benefits to the Zambian people. As many of you may be aware, when China started to be involved in the global modernization process led by the West in the late 19th century, it was not by choice, and it used to be an experience of trauma and injustice. But by and by, through the right leadership, determination, proper planning and hard work, it has become China’s own modernization drive, with a view to building a great modern country that not only delivers for its people, but is also capable of sharing experience and opportunities with the rest of the world.

President Hichilema’s recent trip to China was very much focused on finding solutions to the ongoing energy deficit. In fact, China suffered a serious lack of electricity in the infancy of the People’s Republic, especially in its rural areas that were home to hundreds of millions of farmers. It was not until 2015 that the 1.4 billion Chinese people began to have full access to electricity. Nowadays, clean energy has become a new engine driving the Chinese modernization. China has maintained its global leadership in the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) for nine consecutive years, a clear indicator of its booming economy. If we take a look at the larger picture, from 1952 to 2023, China’s GDP had climbed from 67.9 billion RMB yuan to more than 126 trillion, with a 223-fold increase, making China the world’s second largest economy. From 1979 since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy to 2023, China’s average annual contribution to world economic growth had reached 24.8 percent, ranking the first in the world.

As an ancient Chinese sage said, establish yourself and then help others establish themselves. This is written in the genes of the Chinese civilization. This July, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was successfully convened in Beijing, which opened up new horizon for Chinese modernization through further deepening reform, and sent a clear signal to the world that China would continue down the path of peaceful development and be dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future. A more developed and stronger China that stays committed to peaceful development and reform and opening-up will surely help strengthen forces for peace and justice in the world, inject inexhaustible impetus into the global modernization process, especially the rise of the Global South, bring stability and certainty to a turbulent world full of uncertainties and offer more Chinese solutions to the rest of the developing world, including Zambia, as they strive to modernize themselves and bring a better life to their people.

Mrs. Vice President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

60 years ago, 5 days after Zambia gained independence from colonial rule, it established diplomatic ties with China and became the first country to do so in the Southern part of Africa. This was how our journey together towards modernization started.    

In the Chinese civilization, 60 years represents a special cycle that symbolizes the flow of time and the wisdom of life, a juncture to build on heritage from the past and look to the future for new opportunities and prospects. During President Hichilema’s visit to China earlier this month, he witnessed the signing of an memorandum of understanding on the revitalization of the TAZARA railway, together with President Xi Jinping and Tanzanian President Samia Hassan. This was one of the most important outcomes of the Summit and bears testimony to the fact that China-Zambia friendship, forged by the older generation of leadership of the two countries, has stood the test of changing times and continues to brim with new vitality.

Both the Chinese and Zambian people were forced to bear the spillover effects of the Western-style modernization characterized by “blood and fire”, and both countries were tasked with the mission to realize economic independence after political independence. It was exactly under such circumstances that we built TAZARA together as a monument of friendship, jointly explored suitable paths to development and remained true to our original commitment 60 years ago as closest friends and partners travelling in the same boat no matter what changes took place in the international landscape. In that course, we have managed to develop a model of pursuing modernization together. We have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning our respective core interests. In 1971, Zambia co-sponsored the United Nations Resolution 2758 to restore all China’s lawful rights in the UN. Decades on, we have seen a great number of China-aided projects in this country, including airports, conference centers (including this one we are in), stadiums, hospitals and milling plants. These are indelible footprints of our friendship that transcends time and space and passes on from one generation to the next. Our joint projects also include what we call “small but beautiful” projects, such as the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project, and Smart Village Project starting from Muchila, commissioned by President Hichilema himself. These projects are bringing real benefits to the local communities.

President Hichilema paid a successful State Visit to China last September. China-Zambia relations were then elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership, an advanced form of the general strategic partnership between China and African countries. Since then, China and Zambia have enjoyed deepened political trust and more fruitful practical cooperation. Together, we celebrated the Year of Business Cooperation and the Year of Culture and Tourism with a host of spectacular events. China helped Zambia deal with the challenges of cholera and drought by offering both emergency humanitarian aid and medium- and long-term solutions. A Chinese company reopened Shaft 28 of the Luanshya Copper Mines with substantial investment and world-leading technologies, or what we call the new quality productive forces, to fully unlock its potentials. In the first half of this year, China-Zambia two-way trade stood at nearly 3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.3 percent. Twinning of Chinese and Zambian provinces and cities has been vibrant. Nearly one-third of the Zambian cabinet ministers visited China to expand cooperation in their respective fields. People-to-people exchanges have never been closer.

During the FOCAC Summit, the two sides signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents in such fields as electricity, water resources, soybean export to China, medical and health care and capacity building. These documents will not stop on papers. They will be translated into synergy in our collective push for full implementation. Together, we will make strategic plans for power cooperation to not only help end the current load-shedding, but also turn Zambia into a net exporter of electricity as a regional hub. TAZARA will not only be revamped as a key project in promoting regional connectivity in Southern Africa, but also turned into a dynamic economic corridor, a railway to genuine prosperity and development. It will also serve as a pilot on how an aid project can sustain on its own by market operation and benefit the local communities.

Mrs. Vice President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The FOCAC Summit successfully held 3 weeks ago has shown the world that only when China and Africa are adequately developed, can the world enjoy development and prosperity, as our combined population accounts for one-third of the world’s total. Today, China-Africa cooperation is increasingly playing a leading role in Global Souch cooperation, for two important reasons:

Number one is at the ideas level. The theme of this year’s FOCAC Summit is “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”, with development and cooperation as the two key words. President Xi Jinping put forward a six-point proposition that China and Africa need to work together to advance a type of modernization that is just and equitable, open and win-win, eco-friendly, one that puts people first, features diversity and inclusiveness and underpinned by peace and security. This is widely accepted by African leaders, and has become a political consensus between China and Africa. The trajectory of China’s development proves that modernization can be achieved for latecomers in a peaceful way. China-Africa cooperation has completely rewritten the story about typical modernization process, where plundering from others used to be an unavoidable part. These ideas are a gift to all countries in the world committed to modernization and the common values of humanity.

The second reason lies in concrete actions. Facts have proven that China is more of a doer than a thinker. The outcomes of China-Africa cooperation are visible and tangible. China never attached any political string to its cooperation with African countries. It has always supported capacity building of African countries for self-generated development with every sincerity and good faith. China is striving for equal development opportunities for African countries and working to contribute to a more just and reasonable international order.

At the FOCAC Summit, President Xi Jinping announced ten partnership actions that China would take with Africa to advance modernization in the next three years, covering areas of mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihoods, people-to-people exchanges, green development and common security. China has decided to give all LDCs having diplomatic relations with China, including Zambia, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step. Over the next three years, China will deliver 1,000 “small but beautiful” projects in Africa. China encourages two-way investment for new business operations by Chinese and African companies and create at least one million jobs for Africa. China will provide about 60,000 training opportunities to Africans, mainly to women and youths. These projects will provide skills and technology transfer, key enablers to lift people out of unemployment and poverty. China has pledged 360 billion yuan (about $51 billion) in financial support to implement these initiatives. The blueprint drawn up for China-Africa cooperation in the next 3 years will have a significant and far-reaching impact, as the Global South accelerate their pace of modernization, and it will for sure offer more opportunities for China-Zambia cooperation.

Mrs. Vice President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I see the past 60 years of friendship as a source of confidence over the next 6 decades of promising partnership. Taking the 75th birthday of the People’s Republic of China and the 60th anniversary of China-Zambia relations as an opportunity, the Chinese side is ready to cooperate with the Zambian side to renew our traditional friendship, work on the list of cooperation on the ten partnership actions and make a good start for the next 60 years of our relations. As Chinese Ambassador to Zambia at this important historical juncture, I feel the gravity of my responsibilities. I, together with my team at the Chinese Embassy, stand ready to work with friends from all sectors of this country to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of states to make sure that our relations continue to serve as a fine example of the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

Mrs. Vice President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to propose a toast to the 75th birthday of the People’s Republic of China, to the prosperity of China and Zambia and happiness of our people, to the lasting friendship between our two countries and peoples in the next 60 years, and to the health of all present today. Cheers!

Thank you.


EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA All RIGHTS RESERVED