High-standard opening-up bears more fruits to China-Zambia cooperation
By Mr. Wang Sheng, Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia
THE Third Session of the 14th China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Third Session of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), commonly known as the “two sessions,” were successfully convened from 4 to 11 March 2025. These sessions have brought together nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and over 2,000 CPPCC members from diverse backgrounds who represent people’s voice on the top-level platform for the deliberation of state affairs. Nearly 4,000 suggestions and over 2 million online opinions were solicited for the draft of the Report on the Work of the Government, with a view to most extensively pooling collective wisdom and representing people’s will in the policy-making process. The “two sessions” serve not only as a window for the rest of the world to observe the vitality of China’s whole-process people’s democracy, but also feel the pulse of China’s high-quality development.
- China’s Economy Keeps the Momentum of Stable Growth
Against the backdrop of a volatile global economy, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) scaled new heights in 2024, rising to 134.9 trillion yuan (18.94 trillion US dollars), surpassing 130 trillion yuan for the first time. The year saw the attainment of the projected growth target of around 5 percent, demonstrating China’s robust economic resilience and vitality. On the global stage, China ranks among the world’s fastest-growing major economies, continuing to contribute about 30 percent to global economic growth as the primary engine.
The Report on the Work of the Government 2025 sets forth the following main targets for development: GDP growth of around 5 percent, over 12 million new urban jobs, growth in personal income in step with economic growth, a drop of around 3 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP and continued improvements in the environment. These targets fully demonstrate that the supporting conditions and fundamental trends for China’s long-term economic growth remain unchanged, which will undoubtedly inject confidence and momentum into global economic growth.
In recent years, a number of Chinese industries, including new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and shipbuilding, have grown to lead the world, while the artificial-intelligence-related industry has experienced explosive growth. China’s economic growth is now powered by robust new engines. Furthermore, with the implementation of the reform plans laid out at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the home-grown drivers and vitality of the Chinese economy have been further stimulated.
- China is a Leader in the Development and Governance of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly enhanced humanity’s capacity to understand and transform the world, as a pivotal driving force in the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation. In recent years, China’s AI industry has surged ahead with remarkable paces. Breakthroughs like the DeepSeek large language model have shaken the world, while companies such as Unitree Robotics have showcased cutting-edge innovations.
The Report on the Work of the Government proposes advancing the AI Plus initiative and fostering emerging industries and industries of the future. This underscores China’s commitment to seizing opportunities from AI breakthroughs, integrating digital technologies with its manufacturing prowess and vast market scale, and driving the extensive application of large-scale AI models. Such efforts aim to empower industries across the board and bring AI benefits into every household.
AI governance remains a shared challenge for the countries around the world. China advocates equal, fair and open use of AI by all countries and supports the coordination of AI development, security and governance issues under the framework of the United Nations. In December 2024, with the joint efforts of China and Zambia, the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building was formally established at the UN Headquarters, injecting fresh momentum into improving AI governance and bridging the digital divide. China stands ready to work with Zambia and other countries to ensure that AI becomes a positive force for global cooperation and multilateralism.
III. China Further Expands High-Standard Opening-up
Amid rising unilateralism and protectionism, which undermine the stability of global industrial and supply chains and impede trade flows in the international economy, China firmly opposes the U.S. decision to impose additional tariffs twice on Chinese imports by using the fentanyl issue as an excuse. China believes that protectionism goes nowhere, and trade and tariff wars produce no winners. This has been widely recognized in the international community. What the U.S. did severely violates WTO rules and harms the multilateral trading system. China will take all necessary counter-measures to defend its lawful rights and interests.
Meanwhile, China remains unwavering in expanding high-standard opening-up, striving for solid progress in pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and promoting universally beneficial, inclusive economic globalization. As outlined in the Report on the Work of the Government, “Regardless of changes in the external environment, we should remain steadfast in our commitment to opening up. We should steadily expand institutional opening-up and take the initiative to open wider and advance unilateral opening-up in an orderly way, so as to promote reform and development through greater openness.”
In 2024, China-Africa trade reached $295.56 billion (2.1 trillion yuan, surpassing 2 trillion yuan for the first time), a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. China-Zambia trade reached $6.703 billion, a 26.5% growth compared with the previous year. 2025 marks the beginning of implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit. I am confident that China’s high-quality development and high-standard opening-up will offer opportunities to China-Africa and China-Zambia cooperation to bear more fruitful results.
China stands ready to work with Zambia to deliver on the ten partnership actions for China and Africa to jointly advance modernization, including supporting Zambia in accelerating its industrialization and agricultural modernization, implementing zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, fostering new growth drivers like digital, green and AI industries, take the China-Zambia Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership to a new level and contribute to building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new area.
