Chinese VP meets secretary-general of Zambia's governing party

Visiting Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao (L) meets with Wynter Kabimba (2nd R), secretary-general of Zambia's governing party, the Patriotic Front, in Lusaka, Zambia, June 19, 2014. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun)

Visiting Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao said on Thursday that the Communist Party of China (CPC) was interested in seeing closer ties with Zambia's governing party, the Patriotic Front (PF).

During a meeting with Secretary-General of PF Wynter Kabimba, Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said there was need for the two parties to come with projects that will cement bilateral relations and result in mutual benefits.

He said high-level officials from the two parties have maintained close contact over the past two years, and the two parties have deepened their friendship and cooperation by sharing experiences on governing issues.

Apart from ensuring that the current exchange visits by members of the two parties will continue, Li proposed that the CPC will allow members of the Zambia's governing party to undergo training programs in China.

According to him, three study groups from the Zambian political party have been to China since 2011 when the party won the elections, after defeating the Movement for Multiparty Democracy ( MMD), which had been in power for 20 years.

He said the results of the study tours have been encouraging and that there was need to cement such projects.

For his part, Kabimba said the ties between the two political parties and the two countries made new development ever since the visit of Zambian President Michael Sata to China in April last year, hoping that the visit by the Chinese vice-president would further enhance the ties.

"The Communist Party of China and the Patriotic Front must move forward to consolidate the relations by identifying strong areas of collaboration through a memorandum of understanding," he said.