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Ambassador Du Xiaohui:An All-dimensional Leap for the All-weather Friendship

(From Chinese Embassy in Zambia)

2022-06-06 23:19

On 31st May, President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with President Hakainde Hichilema. The two Heads of State had an in-depth exchange of views and reached an important consensus on consolidating China-Zambia friendship and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation. The dialogue provides political guidance on the all-dimensional development of the all-weather friendship for the foreseeable future.

As today's world is faced with three major challenges of economic downturn, Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, the two Presidents, through a telephone wire, made top-level designs for the bilateral relations. The conversation is also of great significance for the relationship between China and Africa, and even for the China's relationship with other developing countries.

The friendship is unbreakable. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that China and Zambia are all-weather friends enjoying traditional and amicable relations and unbreakable friendship. He stresses that the two sides should grasp bilateral relations from a strategic height and support each other on issues concerning respective core interests. China attaches great importance to China-Zambia relations, and stands ready to work with Zambia to consolidate and deepen the friendship. President Hichilema says that Zambia is ready to consolidate and deepen the traditional friendship forged by the elder generations of leaders of Zambia and China, and push for greater development of bilateral ties to benefit the two peoples in the spirit of high-level mutual trust and cooperation. The two Heads of State are also looking forward to reactivating TAZARA, which has been a monument for China-Zambia and China-Africa friendship, so that the railway can be kept updated in accordance with the trend of the times. After the phone call, President Hichilema immediately left the State House for the commissioning ceremony of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre, to witness a new symbolic project of the friendship completed and put into utilization. That was another highlight of the Zambian leader carrying forward the traditional friendship.

The solidarity is unshakable. President Xi Jinping emphasizes that China and Zambia are both developing countries, and that promoting solidarity and cooperation with Zambia and other African countries is China’s long-term and firm strategic choice. The Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, proposed by President Xi, offer certainty and stability to the world full of turbulence and changes. They are a clear solution to meeting developing countries' aspirations for peace, development and prosperity. President Hichilema says that Zambia supports all the three Initiatives and stands ready to work with China to actively advance their implementation. In order to defend the solidarity and common interests of the developing world, China and Zambia, together with other developing countries, need to adhere to independent foreign policies, firmly safeguard international fairness and justice, and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law.

The cooperation will be elevated to a higher level. In 2021,  the trade volume between China and Zambia hit a record high and Zambia became the country attracting the most Chinese direct investment in Africa. President Xi Jinping believes that the cooperation between the two countries enjoys huge potential and bright prospects. According to President Hichilema, Zambia will work with China to deepen all-round cooperation within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). We should strengthen strategic communication and policy synergy, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and fully implement the nine programs of FOCAC. China is willing to promote more Zambian goods, especially quality agricultural products, to enter the Chinese market. China will also deepen cooperation with African countries, including Zambia, in healthcare, poverty mitigation and agricultural development, trade and investment, green development, digital economy and other fields, help boost economic recovery and sustainable development in Africa, and work toward a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

It will take efforts from both sides to implement the important consensus reached by the two Heads of State on the all-dimensional cooperation. China will work hard with the Zambian side to take concrete actions and bring more benefits of the all-dimensional cooperation to the two peoples.

First, we should cement mutual trust and improve the traditional friendship. Last week, China and Zambia celebrated a series of happy events. The telephone dialogue between President Xi Jinping and President Hichilema has enhanced political mutual trust. The China-aided International Conference Centre commissioned to Zambia has improved Zambia's international image. The China-aided milling plants that was commissioned on Friday have bolstered Zambia's ability to ensure food security. The friendship stems from mutual trust, which is the most valuable and precious asset of the bilateral relationship. We should protect the mutual trust and add value to it, so that the asset can make more profits. The two Heads of State have also emphasized on sharing and learning from each other's experience in state governance. President Hichilema wishes the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China a complete success. The level of political mutual trust will be elevated through more interactions between our two ruling parties.

Second, we should enhance practical cooperation and gain economic traction. For the first quarter of this year, the trade volume between China and Zambia was 2.119 billion US dollars, increasing by 54.5% compared to the same period of last year, and Zambia enjoyed a huge surplus of 1.733 billion US dollars from trade with China. However, President Xi welcomes even more quality products exported from Zambia into China’s market. At the moment, China is working with Zambia to exempt 98% of Zambian products to China from tariffs. The preferential treatment will further expand Zambia's exports to China and, in turn, help create more foreign exchanges for Zambia and improve Zambia's balance of payments. In addition, we are actively encouraging and supporting more investment from Chinese enterprises to Zambia, to help Zambia catch up with the pace of the times, and speed up its independent development and industrialization. The Chinese Embassy in Zambia plans to hold a forum for Chinese investment in Zambia, as a platform on more Chinese enterprises to find business opportunities in Zambia.

Third, we should pursue common development and take a lead in international cooperation. The Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative are the global public goods that China offers to the international community to solve the development predicament and bridge the world's peace deficit. The two Heads of State have reached an important consensus on actively advancing the implementation of the three initiatives. Going forward, both sides need further coordination and cooperation on major international issues of mutual concern, as a means to strengthen solidarity, defend international justice and safeguard legitimate rights and common interests of developing countries. That's how China and Zambia can contribute to a community with a shared future for mankind.

The friendly cooperation between China and Zambia have become a benchmark for China-Africa friendship and a model for South-South cooperation. President Xi Jinping demands that bilateral ties should be pushed to higher levels and broader areas. President Hichilema further believes that there is no limit to what we can do together for the mutual benefit of our two nations.

With the personal care, guidance and promotion of the two Heads of State, the all-dimensional friendship that China and Zambia are enjoying will acquire steady, sustained and increased growth, and remain an excellent example of developing countrie' solidarity and friendship in the new era.

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