Date:04/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/04/stories/2007020402341200.htm

International

Hu arrives in Zambia

LUSAKA (ZAMBIA): Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Lusaka, capital of Zambia, on Saturday on the fourth leg of his eight-nation African tour aimed at enhancing friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and African countries.

In Lusaka, Mr. Hu will hold talks with his Zambian counterpart Levy Patrick Mwanawasa on deepening bilateral relations and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

In a written statement issued at the airport, Mr. Hu said Zambia is an important country in southern Africa.

``Under the leadership of President Mwanawasa, the Zambian people have, in recent years, made impressive achievements in economic revitalisation and national development, and played an active role in African and international affairs,'' he said.

Zambia was the first country in southern Africa to establish diplomatic relations with New China.

``Since then, our two peoples have always sympathised with and supported each other,'' he said.

``The well-known Tazara stands as a monument to the China-Zambia friendship that binds us together,'' he said, referring to the Tazara Railway linking Tanzania with Zambia, which was built with China's assistance in the 1970s. — Xinhua