China Agrees to Cancel Part of Zambia's DebtChina Tuesday agreed to cancel part of the debt owed by Zambia in a bid to help the country to develop its economy.According to the agreements signed by the two sides, the Chinese government agreed to exempt Zambia from the obligations of paying back batches of interest-free loans, with a total amount of 175 million RMB yuan (about 21 million U. S. dollars), 9 million U. S. dollars and 700, 000 pound sterling. The agreements were signed here on behalf of their respective governments by He Xiaowei, visiting Chinese assistant minister for foreign trade and economic cooperation, and Zambia's Secretary to the Treasury James Mtonga. Besides debt cancellation, China also pledged to provide gratis assistance of 20 million RMB yuan (some 2.4 million dollars) to Zambia to supplement the deficient construction expenses for some projects sponsored by China. "This is a great event of the economic and technical cooperation between China and Zambia in the new millennium, and a sign of further development of the excellent relationship between China and Zambia," the Chinese assistant minister said at the signing ceremony. He said success of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum held last October in Beijing had enhanced the friendly cooperation between China and African countries including Zambia. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the follow-up actions of the forum. Writing off the debts of Zambia is such a concrete step, " the Chinese official said. On behalf of his government, Zambia's Deputy Finance Minister Godfrey Simasiku expressed his appreciation to China, a non-Paris Club creditor for accepting to grant a partial debt relief to Zambia and for providing gratis assistance of funds. Due to the debt relief from the Chinese government, Zambia's economy and the people's living standards will increase step by step, Simasiku said. He also expressed the hope that China will provide more funds for cooperative projects between the two countries. Zambia is one of China's largest aid-recipient countries in Africa. Since Zambia's independence in the 1960s, China has rendered various kinds of aids to the country. Major China-backed projects include the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), the Mulungushi Textile Factory and FM radio stations. |
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