Zambia and China Sign a $1 Billion Deal

At the China-Zambia High Quality Development International Conference in Lusaka on 15th May, President Hichilema signed 18 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) valued at over $1 billion.

The sectors which the MoUs will enhance cooperation are in mining, energy and agriculture.

The Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) also signed an agreement with the Chinese Association of Zambia to implement multi facility economic zones in all the ten provinces.

Speaking at the opening of the forum, President Hakainde said: “it’s no longer secret, I’ve made it public, one of my personal agendas…before we are done with serving the people of Zambia, we will, and it will happen, more than double the size of the country’s economy.” He reiterated the government’s focus on increasing investments and future joint ventures and economic partnerships.

He continued, “we have to tackle the challenges that face us head on, and flip the coin to see opportunities around it.”

The government has started to materialise its aims of going beyond the realm of political diplomacy into the realm of economic diplomacy. In a tweet on X/Twitter, President Hichilema said the economic bilateral relations between the countries was already “bearing fruit.”

The Director General of the ZDA, Albert Halwampa, has already cited an increase in investor confidence, pointing to the fact that from 2011 to 2021, committed investments stood at $35 billion, and from 2022 to 2023, they increased to $50 billion.

The Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, Xiaohui Du said the year 2024 would be one of business cooperation, culture and tourism for the two countries.