(29 October 2024, TAZARA Memorial Park)
Your Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema,
Your Royal Highness, Dr. Senior Chieftainess Nkomesha Mukamambo II,
Hon. Ministers,
Members of the United Party for National Development National Management Committee,
Senior Government Officials,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Friends from the media,
Boys and girls,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is a privilege for me to join Your Excellency Mr. President at the TAZARA Memorial Park to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Zambia, by honouring our common heritage, in the hope of embracing a shared future. At the outset, let me pay tribute to all who have worked tirelessly for China-Zambia relations in the past 60 years.
Our gathering today is most relevant, as our countries established diplomatic relations on October 29th, 1964, exactly 60 years ago. China firmly supported Zambia’s struggle for freedom both morally and materially and recognized the Republic of Zambia by sending a congratulatory message immediately after independence was gained. Five days later, Zambia established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, making it the first country to do so in Southern Africa.
That was how this journey of 60 years of enduring friendship started thanks to the strategic vision of our founding fathers Chairman Mao Zedong and President Kenneth Kaunda. 60 years on, our relationship has stood the test of time and has been going strong and increasingly seen as a fine example of China-Africa relations and South-South cooperation.
Mr. President, we are glad this traditional friendship now enjoys your leadership and guidance. You paid a successful State Visit to China in September last year and together with President Xi Jinping, you announced the elevation of our relations to a Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. This September, you visited China again to attend the FOCAC Beijing Summit, where the two heads of state reached extensive consensus with a blueprint for future cooperation. These are important milestones in China-Zambia relations and tone-setters for our joint endeavours in the years ahead.
Our gathering today could not have happened in a better place, as this Memorial Park was created to honour heroes, who laid down their lives for TAZARA, a railway that the new-born Republic of Zambia urgently needed to break external blockade for economic independence and opportunities to develop. When western countries turned down the proposal as neither commercially viable nor technically possible, China made a decision to aid and construct the railway at the request of Dr. Kaunda and Dr. Nyerere of Tanzania despite immense economic hardships at home. Over 50,000 Chinese experts travelled thousands of miles to this country with a goal to assist our Zambian and Tanzanian brothers and sisters in their fight for genuine freedom. Chinese, Zambian and Tanzanian engineers and workers worked shoulder to shoulder for 5 years and 8 months under unimaginable challenging conditions.
The 1860-kilometre TAZARA was completed ahead of schedule in October 1975 and handed over in July 1976. More than 60 Chinese workers lost their lives, and 36 are laid to rest here in this memorial park, the youngest of them not even 22. In extremely difficult times, these people were supported by a strong belief in internationalism, mutual respect and equality and an unwavering spirit of perseverance, hard work and selfless dedication. This is what we call the TAZARA spirit, a bond beyond space and time that still serves as an inspiration and driving force for China-Zambia and China-Africa cooperation today.
Mr. President, you witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the revitalization of the TAZARA railway in Beijing last month, together with President Xi and Tanzanian President Samia Hassan. The revitalized TAZARA will enhance the import and export of Zambia as a land-linked country and a regional industrial hub, by capitalizing on Chinese capital, technologies and expertise. It will serve crucial sectors such as agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing, bring more job opportunities and tax revenue and truly help translate Zambia’s advantages in human capital and natural resources into real changes on the ground and well-being for the people. I am sure the 36 heroes buried here would be more than gratified to see TAZARA revamped and serving this beloved country and its people, because they would know that they had died for a lofty cause.
I look forward to even closer partnership between the Zambian government and the Chinese contractor to support the revitalization of TAZARA, for it is not just an enduring monument of our time-honoured friendship, but also a pilot on how an aid project could sustain on its own by market operation.
Our gathering today points to the importance of sensitizing the younger generation of our joint heritage, as they are going to be the future torchbearers of China-Zambia friendship. Mr. President, you appealed to the public to preserve the memory of freedom fighters and encouraged the younger generation to follow their spirit during the Independence Day celebrations. You also directed the Ministry of Tourism to write life histories of freedom fighters to keep their legacies alive, which I couldn’t agree more. The stories of TAZARA construction is the best illustration of our joint fight against oppression for freedom. I believe that the TAZARA heroes and the spirit they embodied deserve to be properly documented and remembered by the young people through textbooks and stories of freedom fighters, as a constant reminder of the sacrifice that has been made and the soil on which China-Zambia friendship has been growing.
I, therefore, implore you, Mr. President, and through you, to the Zambian government, to include the stories of these heroes and this part of our common history in the Zambian textbooks and the relevant narratives.
Dr. Kaunda visited this Memorial Park in 2019 at its groundbreaking ceremony, when he remarked that the people of Zambia will never forget the selfless sacrifices made by the Chinese people. I encourage you, the young people as represented today, to always remember where we came from. I count on you to take over the baton in this historical relay race and continue to bring our friendship and cooperation forward.
Mr. President,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The year 2025 will opens up the next 60 years of China-Zambia relations. It will also be the 50th anniversary of the completion of TAZARA, but we expect to celebrate much more than that. I foresee major breakthroughs in the revitalization of TAZARA, most probably start of modernization works by the end of the year, with close collaboration of all three parties. I have no doubt that under the strategic leadership of the two heads of states, China and Zambia will carry forward the TAZARA spirit in a joint effort to build a promising shared future together.
Thank you.