President Hichilema Meets Xi Jinping Amid Zambian Debt Woes

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a crucial meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Beijing on Friday, according to state media reports. The meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Zambia, which is heavily indebted and is working to bolster its relationship with its principal creditor, China, which also holds significant stakes in Zambia's mining sector. China had previously launched an extensive infrastructure initiative in Zambia, involving the development of new airports, roads, and energy projects. However, this effort was initiated prior to Hichilema's assumption of office in 2021. Notably, President Hichilema has fostered increasingly close ties with the United States. President Joe Biden has praised Hichilema's commitment to democracy during US-Africa and democracy summits. During their meeting on Friday, President Xi stated that the friendship between China and Zambia had endured international challenges and changes. He expressed China's willingness to convert this friendship into an enduring catalyst for mutually beneficial cooperation in the new era, aiming to steadily advance relations between the two nations. Hichilema, in response, conveyed Zambia's admiration for China's active role in reshaping the global order, emphasizing the importance of the global South finding its rightful place in the world. Zambia's financial struggles are underscored by its total debt of $32.8 billion as of the end of 2022. The country defaulted on its $18.6 billion foreign debt in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming the first African nation to default on its foreign debt since the pandemic's onset. In late June, after a two-day summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, a debt restructuring deal was reached with foreign lenders, covering approximately one-third of the debt burden. Zambia's ongoing efforts to manage its debt crisis and navigate its international relationships are of significant interest to global financial markets and geopolitical observers.