President Hu Jintao ended his two-day state visit to Zambia Monday and left for Windhoek, Namibia, to continue his eight-nation tour of Africa.

 

Soon after his arrival in Lusaka Saturday, President Hu had talks with Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. They discussed ways of enhancing friendship and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Following their talks, the two countries signed eight cooperation documents.

 

On Sunday, President Hu met former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, and attended the inauguration ceremony of a Zambia-China economic cooperation zone, the first one to be set up by China in Africa.

 

At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November, President Hu announced that China will establish three to five trade and economic cooperation zones in Africa over the next three years.

 

Since China and Zambia established diplomatic relations in 1964, the two countries have maintained what Kaunda described as an "all-weather friendship."

 

The Tanzara Railway, built with the assistance of China, is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between China and Africa.

 

In recent years, China and Zambia have expanded their cooperation in other sectors, such as agriculture, textiles and education. In 2005, the bilateral trade volume reached US$300 million.

 

President Hu's Africa trip has already taken him to Cameroon, Liberia and Sudan and he will continue his visit to Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2007)