Chinese FM holds talks with Zambian counterpart

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Mulambo Haimbe, Zambia's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that last year, the two heads of state jointly announced the elevation of China-Zambia relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, leading bilateral relations on a new journey.

China appreciates Zambia's adherence to the one-China principle and stands ready to consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, Wang said.

He called on the two sides to jointly activate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, coordinate the comprehensive development along the line, help Zambia turn its resource advantages into development momentum, and enhance its independent development capacity and industrialization level.

Wang also briefed Haimbe on the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, saying that China will focus on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which will bring new opportunities to developing countries including Zambia.

China is willing to strengthen the exchange of governance experience with Zambia, support it in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and help to advance its modernization process, he said.

Noting that the new summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing this September, Wang said that China is ready to take this opportunity to work with African countries to make the event a success, carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Africa, and take the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future to a new level.

Haimbe offered congratulations on the success of the plenum, saying that Zambia looks forward to learning from the successful experience of the CPC in party governance, improving its own governance capacity and better serving the Zambian people.

Zambia cherishes its traditional friendship with China and will, as always, abide by the one-China principle and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Haimbe said.

"President Hichilema paid a successful visit to China last year. He is looking forward to attending the new FOCAC summit and believes that the summit will be a complete success," said Haimbe.

Haimbe said that Zambia is willing to take the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties to push for greater development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

He added that more Chinese enterprises are welcome to invest in Zambia and the two countries are willing to strengthen cooperation on agriculture, energy and mining.

The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs.