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In a visit that blends history, geopolitics and economic ambition, Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Lusaka on Thursday for a two-day state trip widely viewed as a significant reaffirmation of Beijing\u2019s long-standing presence in Zambia. The visit \u2014 the first by a Chinese premier in 28 years \u2014 comes at a pivotal moment for both countries: Zambia is seeking to stabilise its economy after emerging from a crippling debt crisis, while China is refining its African strategy amid growing global competition for critical minerals and strategic infrastructure.<\/p>\n
At the centre of Li\u2019s mission is the revival of one of Africa\u2019s most iconic Cold War infrastructure projects: the Tanzania\u2013Zambia Railway, commonly known as Tazara. The 1,860km line, built in the 1970s with Chinese financing and engineering, provided landlocked Zambia with an alternative export route at a time when Southern Africa was dominated by white-minority regimes. For Beijing, the project was a powerful emblem of solidarity with African liberation struggles \u2014 and a geopolitical counterweight to Soviet and Western influence.<\/p>\n
Today, the railway is being reimagined for a new era of global industrial competition. Zambia and China are expected to sign agreements to kick-start a $1.4 billion modernisation programme<\/strong>, upgrading track systems, locomotives, freight capacity and port linkages to the Tanzanian coastal hub of Dar es Salaam.<\/p>\n Officials say the refurbished line will dramatically smooth the movement of Zambia\u2019s mineral exports, especially copper and cobalt, both essential to modern electronics, electric vehicles and renewable-energy systems.<\/p>\n \u201cThis railway is more than steel and sleepers \u2014 it is a symbol of resilience and independence,\u201d Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said at a joint briefing with Premier Li. \u201cThe Chinese people took a decision to support their brothers and sisters in Zambia in constructing a trade route to the Indian Ocean, at a time when the southern corridor was blocked by colonial-era politics.\u201d<\/p>\n Zambia is Africa\u2019s second-largest copper producer and home to significant cobalt deposits \u2014 minerals at the heart of the global clean-energy revolution. China, the world\u2019s dominant processor of critical minerals, is deeply embedded in Zambia\u2019s mining sector through state-owned and private firms.<\/p>\n Beijing\u2019s objective is clear: secure long-term access to strategic metals while strengthening trade routes that bypass geopolitical chokepoints. For Zambia, the railway upgrade could help unlock billions in additional investment, reduce transport costs and support its ambition to expand mining output and domestic processing.<\/p>\n Analysts say the timing is not coincidental. Li\u2019s arrival comes as Zambia seeks to move beyond one of the most complex sovereign-debt restructurings in modern African history. China, one of Zambia\u2019s largest creditors, played a key role in negotiations that lasted nearly three years. While critics in Western capitals have accused Beijing of slow-walking talks, Zambian officials have been more circumspect, emphasising the need for all lenders \u2014 Western and Chinese alike \u2014 to take responsibility.<\/p>\n During his remarks, Li sought to shift the narrative away from debt and toward long-term partnership. The language, now familiar in Chinese diplomacy, signals Beijing\u2019s desire to present its relationships in Africa as equal and collaborative \u2014 a counterpoint to criticisms from some Western governments that Chinese projects create dependency rather than empowerment.<\/p>\n Li Qiang\u2019s stop in Zambia comes ahead of the Group of 20 summit in South Africa, where global economic governance, supply-chain security and infrastructure investment in developing countries are expected to feature prominently. His presence in Lusaka sends a clear message: China wants to retain its status as Africa\u2019s most influential infrastructure and development partner \u2014 even as other powers mount renewed efforts to challenge its dominance.<\/p>\n For Zambia, Li\u2019s visit is a diplomatic balancing act. President Hichilema has positioned himself as an advocate of diversified alliances \u2014 strengthening ties with the United States and Europe, courting Gulf investment, and maintaining the strategic relationship with China, which remains central to Zambia\u2019s mining and infrastructure sectors.<\/p>\n If completed as planned, the upgraded Tazara line could transform logistics across southern and eastern Africa. With greater cargo capacity and faster transit times, the corridor is expected to provide an alternative to overburdened and costly road transport, boosting Zambia\u2019s competitiveness and integrating its mineral economy more deeply into regional value chains.<\/p>\n The railway could also serve as a model for future China\u2013Africa cooperation: a legacy project modernised to meet contemporary economic needs, blending political symbolism with commercial pragmatism.<\/p>\n Nearly fifty years after Chinese engineers carved the Tazara line through mountains and valleys at great financial and human cost, the railway is poised for reinvention. Li Qiang\u2019s visit is both a reminder of China\u2019s long historical ties with Zambia and a signal of its enduring ambition to shape Africa\u2019s development trajectory.<\/p>\n As global demand for critical minerals intensifies and geopolitical rivalries deepen, the partnership between China and Zambia \u2014 forged in solidarity, tested in crisis, and now recalibrated for modernisation \u2014 is entering a new, more strategically charged phase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a visit that blends history, geopolitics and economic ambition, Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Lusaka on Thursday for a two-day state trip widely viewed as a significant reaffirmation of Beijing\u2019s long-standing presence in Zambia. The visit \u2014 the first by a Chinese premier in 28 years \u2014 comes at a pivotal moment for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[159],"class_list":["post-683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","author-helloafrica"],"authors":[{"term_id":159,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"helloafrica","display_name":"Michael Peters","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-FFB50F59-0D6C-491C-BACA-64123F72D056.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-FFB50F59-0D6C-491C-BACA-64123F72D056.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":686,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions\/686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africahalloffame.org\/Home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Copper, cobalt and the race for the minerals of the future<\/h3>\n
A surge in global demand for copper \u2014 expected to more than double by 2035 \u2014 has intensified competition between China, the United States, the European Union and Gulf states for stable supply. While the EU is launching new partnerships across Africa to diversify away from single-source dependence, China is doubling down on infrastructure-led diplomacy, leveraging its decades-long footprint in Zambia.<\/p>\nDebt diplomacy or development partnership?<\/h3>\n
China, he said, remains \u201ca good brother, good friend and good partner of Zambia,\u201d and is committed to \u201csteadily enriching our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.\u201d He added that Beijing wants to work with Lusaka to \u201cadvance the cause of modernisation\u201d and build \u201ca China\u2013Zambia community with a shared future.\u201d<\/p>\nA diplomatic stage-setter ahead of the G20<\/h3>\n
What the railway revival means for Zambia \u2014 and the region<\/h3>\n
A relationship rooted in history \u2014 recalibrated for the future<\/h3>\n