from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – ZAMBIA has launched some platforms in China as it deepens investment and trade cooperation with the Asian global powerhouse.
Ambassador to China, Ivan Zyuulu, on Wednesday presided over the China–Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Economic and Trade Exchange Centre in Guangdong and Macao Development Platform in Guangzhou.
The launch follows the signing of the cooperation agreement between the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Development Committee of the China–SCO Economic and Trade Exchange Centre in October 2025.
It builds on the outcomes of the 2025 SCO Summit of Heads of State held in August and September 2025 in Tianjin, China.
Wang Rui Cai, Director of the China–SCO Economic and Trade Exchange Centre, guided the tour of the exchange center facility and committed institutional support, office space, and professional services dedicated to promoting Zambian priority projects.
The centre based in Guangzhou serves as a strategic platform for mobilising enterprises from the Greater Bay Area and the wider SCO region to explore investment and trade opportunities in Zambia.
On the sidelines of his official engagements, the ambassador paid a courtesy call on Ma Wenfeng, Director General, of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province.
“He reaffirmed Zambia’s strong interest in expanding cooperation with Guangdong Province in priority areas including industrialization, value addition and infrastructure development,” the embassy stated.
Ma welcomed the strengthening of Zambia–Guangdong relations and emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation in economic and trade relations, investment, industrial development, and people-to-people exchanges.
Copper-rich Zambia now accepts Chinese yuan for mining taxes and royalties from Chinese-owned companies, making it the first African nation to do so.
This is seen as strengthening the local kwacha’s worth against the United States dollar.
– CAJ News