On January 9, 2017 local time, President Edgar Lungu of Zambia met at the State House in Lusaka with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Edgar Lungu expressed that Zambia is grateful for China's strong support and selfless aids to Zambia's national independence and construction. Zambia considers China as its most reliable all-weather friend and partner. The Zambian side admires China's great development achievements under the leadership of President Xi Jinping in recent years and asks Wang Yi to convey respect and greetings to President Xi Jinping. Zambia is now in the key stage of accelerated development and eagerly hopes to further deepen cooperation with China. Zambia is very enthusiastic about the revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (Taraza) and is willing to work with China and Tanzania to this end. The country will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy, stick to the common position of the African Union on the reform of the UN Security Council and maintain strategic communication with China on such major international and regional issues as the UN Security Council reform.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to Edgar Lungu. He noted that the friendship between China and Zambia, personally founded and nurtured by Chairman Mao Zedong, President Kenneth Kaunda and older generations of leaders of China and Africa, has withstood the test of the times and international vicissitudes. China and Zambia now are all-weather sincere friends and all-round cooperation partners to each other. Focusing on the implementation of major consensus reached by the two heads of state and achievements made in Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China is willing to give full play to the three advantages of political mutual trust, economic complementarity and people-to-people friendship of the two countries, and propel Zambia to fulfill its three goals of industrialization, agricultural modernization and modernization of national governance capability. Leaders of China, Zambia and Tanzania have reached important consensus on the general direction of improving and upgrading Taraza. China is willing to work with Zambia and Tanzania to further build Taraza, the road of friendship and the road of freedom of Africa back in the day into a road of cooperation and a road of prosperity. China will once again shoulder its due responsibility and make new contribution to the future development of Taraza.