China-Zambia Cooperation Has Great Potential - Chinese Foreign Minister

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that cooperation between his country and Zambia has “great potential” and that the relationship forged between founding leaders Kenneth Kaunda and Mao Zedong is “precious” and deserves to be carried forward. 

Speaking on the phone to Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Stanley Kakubo on Monday, Mr Wang congratulated his Zambian counterpart on his recent appointment. 

He observed that Zambia and China had historically attached great importance to their relationship and commended the “all-weather friendship” between the two nations. 

Mr Wang further highlighted the importance of South to South cooperation in furthering global development and said that China would continue to be a firm partner in Zambia’s industrialisation. 

To help Zambia cope with the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Wang pledged an additional 1 million doses of vaccines to Zambia. He also said he hoped to work with the Zambian government to encourage more countries to join the Global Development Initiative to help boost African countries’ economic recovery from the pandemic. 

In response, Mr Kakubo said Zambia’s new government continues to attach great importance to the country’s relationship with China and is firmly committed to friendship with China. 

He thanked the Chinese government for its supply of Covid vaccines during the pandemic and emphasised that Zambia had benefited greatly from China’s Belt and Road Initiative for global development. He said his government would actively participate in the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in order to promote greater cooperation between African countries and China. 

Perhaps controversially, Mr Kakubo affirmed Zambia’s commitment to the One China Policy, which asserts that there is only one sovereign state under the name of China - the People’s Republic of China - and denies statehood to Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China. This position is at odds with many western countries, including the USA, UK and most EU states, who recognise both China and Taiwan as countries. Most other African countries do not.