On 7th January, H.E. Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, met with H.E. Mr. Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia. They had an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and practical cooperation. Hon. Stanley Kakubo, Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and other senior officials from the State House also attended the meeting.

Ambassador Li presented the series of Xi Jinping on the Governance of China to President Hichilema. He said that the traditional friendship between China and Zambia as friends and comrades was personally forged by the elder generation of Chinese and Zambian leaders and is worth cherishing. China is willing to be Zambia’s most reliable long-term cooperative partner, and continue to understand, trust, and support each other.

Ambassador Li said that in the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Xi Jinping pointed out that an everlasting spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation has been forged between the two sides, which features sincere friendship and equality, win-win for mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, and progress with the times and openness and inclusiveness. President Xi also made it solemnly clear that China will never forget the profound friendship of African countries and will remain guided by the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests. China will work together with African friends to promote and carry forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation from generation to generation. President Xi further announced that China will work closely with African countries to implement nine programs. These cover the medical and health program and those on poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade promotion, investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange as well as peace and security. The Ambassador said that the nine programs can well serve the most urgent development needs of Zambia, and China encourages Zambia to implement the FOCAC outcomes and bring the bilateral cooperation to a new level, benefiting the two peoples.

Ambassador Li said that right now, COVID-19 is still raging in the world, and China stands for efforts to make vaccines a global public good and ensure the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines globally, especially vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. China has donated 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Zambia and will provide another 1 million doses, which will help Zambia combat the disease. President Xi Jinping has announced that China will provide another one billion doses of vaccines to Africa, including 600 million doses as donation and 400 million doses to be provided through such means as joint production by Chinese companies and relevant African countries. China is willing to explore more cooperation opportunities on vaccines with Zambia.

President Hichilema asked Ambassador Li to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping. He expected the year of 2022 to be the year when the relationship between Zambia and China continuously strengthens. He thanked the Chinese Government and the Chinese people for the help and support over the years. He said that the "nine programs" proposed by President Xi Jinping will help Zambia grow its economy and improve Zambian people’s lives. Zambia is willing to work with China to implement the FOCAC outcomes.

They also discussed the latest developments of some bilateral cooperation projects.