LUSAKA, June 21 -- Visiting Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao said here he hoped new Confucius Institute offices in Zambia would strengthen cultural and langugage exchanges between the two countries.

Li was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of new offices and classrooms for the institute Friday on the University of Zambia (UNZA) campus. The Confucius Institute has been operating at the university since 2010 and was recently given land there to build new facilities.

Li said the establishment of the Confucius Institute had provided an opportunity for Zambians to learn not only the Chinese language but culture as well.

The friendly cooperation between the two countries lay in people, especially young people, he said, adding the new construction heralded another milestone in cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Zambian Home Affairs Minister Ngosa Simbyakula said learning each other's language and culture was an imperative for doing business as the world became one market place.

The establishment of the Confucius Institute had witnessed a rise in demand for learning of the Chinese language, the minister said.

"The Confucius Institute at the University of Zambia has become not only a symbol of unity and cooperation between China and Zambia but it has also become an important beacon representing and promising a sustainable friendship between the peoples of our two nations," he said.

The institute has enrolled 4,200 students and organized 240 cultural activities since it opened in Zambia.

Also Friday, the Chinese vice president visited a photo exhibition to mark 50 years of bilateral ties, and pledged to deepen relations.

The photo exhibition, depicting achievements of bilateral cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, economy, culture, education, public health and other areas, was launched by Li and Zambian Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba.

On the same day, Li handed over 30 computers and two minibuses to a project aimed at reducing poverty in Zambia.

The National Project for Poverty Reduction (NPPR), which involves the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD), was launched in 2012 to help create jobs by ensuring young people and women are empowered with necessary skills.

The 30 computers and two minibuses, donated by the CFPD, came at a time when Zambia's poverty reduction organization was facing operational challenges, said Ngosa Simbyakula, head of the project.

The Chinese vice president arrived here Wednesday for an official visit. During his stay in Lusaka, Li held talks with Zambian leaders, including President Michael Sata and Vice President Guy Scott.