{"id":2480,"date":"2025-11-20T20:05:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years"},"modified":"2025-11-20T20:24:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T20:24:59","slug":"chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Premier Visits Zambia for First Time in 28 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has made his first visit to Zambia in nearly three decades, a trip that carries significant political and economic implications. Zambia, rich in copper, is struggling with a financial crisis and owes China approximately $5.7 billion, making it the largest official creditor of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Africa. <\/strong> <\/span>Chinese Premier Li Qiang has arrived in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, marking the first visit of its kind in nearly three decades. This visit is described as having political and economic dimensions that go beyond mere protocol.<\/p>\n

The visit comes as Zambia, a country rich in copper, struggles to emerge from a severe financial crisis, while Beijing seeks to enhance its presence in Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative.<\/p>\n

Zambia owes China approximately $5.7 billion, making Beijing the largest official creditor of the country.<\/p>\n

The Chinese leadership is keen to present Zambia as a model for countries that have managed to overcome their financial crises with Chinese support, amid efforts to expand markets for its electrical equipment, tractors, and construction machinery.<\/p>\n

Intense Competition with the West<\/b><\/p>\n

Li Qiang’s visit occurs within the context of a fierce race among major powers for influence in Zambia, especially after the government successfully restructured its $13.4 billion debt to make it more sustainable.<\/p>\n

Today, the country is viewed as a geoeconomic battleground, with the West continuing to develop the Lobito Corridor through Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in contrast to renewed Chinese investments in the historic TAZARA railway linking Zambia to the Tanzanian coast.<\/p>\n

The World Bank expects the Zambian economy to grow by 6.5% next year, surpassing the average performance over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

However, this optimism faces internal challenges, notably an acid leak from a Chinese-operated copper plant in February that polluted the vital Kafue River and sparked widespread political controversy.<\/p>\n

Struggle for Influence in the Heart of Africa<\/b><\/p>\n

Over the past two decades, Chinese companies have injected around $6 billion into Zambia, mostly in the mining sector. However, these investments now face increasing competition from Europeans and Americans seeking to bolster their presence through strategic projects.<\/p>\n

Observers believe that Li Qiang’s visit represents an attempt to solidify Chinese influence in a country considered a vital gateway to African resources and markets, amid a global landscape characterized by rising competition for the heart of the continent.<\/p>\n

Over the past two decades, Chinese companies have invested around $6 billion in Zambia, primarily in the mining sector. This influx of investment has positioned Zambia as a critical player in the geopolitical landscape of Africa, especially as global powers vie for influence on the continent. The recent restructuring of Zambia’s $13.4 billion debt has made the country more attractive for foreign investments, particularly from China, which aims to expand its market for electrical equipment and construction machinery.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What You Need to Know Chinese Premier Li Qiang has made his first visit to Zambia in nearly three decades, a trip that carries significant political and economic implications. Zambia, rich in copper, is struggling with a financial crisis and owes China approximately $5.7 billion, making it the largest official creditor of the country. Africa. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[120,343,331,94,345,344],"class_list":{"0":"post-2480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-policy","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-belt-and-road","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-debt","12":"tag-investment","13":"tag-zambia"},"yoast_head":"\nChinese Premier Visits Zambia for First Time in 28 Years - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits Zambia, marking a significant political and economic moment amid growing competition for the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese Premier Visits Zambia for First Time in 28 Years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits Zambia, marking a significant political and economic moment amid growing competition for the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T20:05:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T20:24:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2025\/11\/sm_1763670038.678858.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Chinese Premier Visits Zambia for First Time in 28 Years\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T20:05:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-20T20:24:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\"},\"wordCount\":488,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2025\/11\/sm_1763670038.678858.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\",\"Belt and Road\",\"China\",\"Debt\",\"investment\",\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/chinese-premier-visits-zambia-for-first-time-in-28-years\",\"name\":\"Chinese Premier Visits Zambia for First Time in 28 Years - 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