President Lungu hails China

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu says his recent State visit to China has started to yield positive investment outcomes such as the $600 million Jiangxi MultiFacility Economic Zone in Chibombo, Central Province. Mr. Lungu said the development was as a result of his visit to Beijing where he attended the 2018 Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. He said following the pronouncement during the FOCAC summit held in Beijing in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion towards the successful implementation of the FOCAC framework and that Zambia has started benefiting from that package. Mr. Lungu said this yesterday, in Chibombo when he officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for Jiangxi Multi-Facility Economic Zone. Mr Lungu said Zambia’s friendship with China dated back to the pre-independence era and that there was need to cherish those cordial and mutual bilateral ties between the two countries, in addition with other countries that Zambia enjoyed diplomatic ties with. He said Government would continue to make efforts aimed at reducing the cost of doing business by eliminating hurdles that contributed to delays and high transaction costs. Earlier, President Lungu accompanied by Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe and other senior government officials knelt before the 14 traditional leaders of Central Province who included Senior Chief Mukuni Ngombe as a gesture of respect. Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Christopher Yaluma pledged Government’s determination to foster a conducive and favourable business environment. Chinese ambassador to Zambia Li Jie said the project was a mark of warm bilateral relations that China and Zambia enjoyed.