On December 17, Minister Counsellor Lai Bo attended 2022 Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zambia Gala Dinner and delivered a speech. Minister of Tourism Rhodine Sikumba, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Elias Mubanga, and representatives of entrepreneurs from both sides participated.

Lai briefly introduced the achievements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the two-step strategic plan. Based on the current economic situation in China, Lai pointed out that the Chinese path to modernization provides experience of reference for other countries to draw from in their developments, and China’s high-quality development and high-level opening up provide new opportunities for China-Africa and China-Zambia mutually beneficial cooperation. And the CCCZ actively participated in the 94th Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show and the first China-Zambia Trade and Investment Forum, and held several symposiums on budget and taxation, effectively promoting the communication between Chinese private enterprises, local enterprises and government departments. Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we hope that our two countries will take the high-quality joint construction of the BRI as an opportunity to achieve further practical cooperation in various fields.

Sikomba and Mubanga thanked the CCCZ for its role as a communication platform, saying that China and Zambia are friendly countries, and Chinese enterprises have made much contributions to the economic and social development of Zambia, hoping that the two countries will discuss the opening of direct flights to promote interconnection. And the Zambian government will further optimize the business environment, hoping that more Chinese enterprises will invest in Zambia, particularly explore the establishment of more joint ventures.