China ready to help Zambia unlock development potential

LUSAKA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to use its experience and help Zambia unlock its development potential, said Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Han Jing at a press briefing held Wednesday in the Zambian capital of Lusaka on the outcomes of the just-ended Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing.

"China stands ready to share its own development experience and opportunities with Zambia, a country rich in natural resources and human capital, to unlock Zambia's great potential for socioeconomic transformation with increased productivity, higher value addition, stronger resilience, and a higher degree of adaptability to a digital world," said Han.

Han said China's demography and experience of development in many ways mirror those of Zambia, stressing that China was ready to offer its experiences in various areas such as infrastructure construction, green energy, agricultural modernization, and industrial expansion.

The Chinese ambassador said China was encouraging more Chinese businesses to engage Zambian partners in solar energy and water management to help the southern African nation tackle the current electricity crisis.

According to him, China was working with the Zambian authorities to make strategic plans for multiple means of power generation, storage, and distribution to help Zambia end the current power cuts.

Han noted that once materialized, the strategic plans will not only help alleviate frequent power cuts but also turn Zambia into a net exporter of electricity.

He said a number of cooperation documents signed aimed at diversifying Zambia's energy mix will generate an additional 720 megawatts of electricity once completed. He also said the revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway will be a key project in promoting regional connectivity in the southern African region.

The railway line, he said, will not stop at being just a symbol of traditional friendship but will also be turned into a dynamic economic corridor.

He noted that the summit has opened a new chapter of China's relations with Africa as well as Zambia through comprehensive political and socioeconomic engagement with great significance and far-reaching impact for the next three years.

He said the contracts and agreements signed at the FOCAC summit will not just end at signing ceremonies. Once inked, both sides will amplify synergy in their collective push for inclusive and sustainable development.

The Chinese ambassador noted that the elevation of China-Africa relations to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era demonstrates the firm resolve to share weal and woe and march forward amid the unprecedented transformation of the world.