When Zambia got independent, China was one of the first countries to recognise her as a new state and on October 29, 1964, five days after her independence from British rule, the Embassy of China was opened in Lusaka.And when landlocked Zambia needed...
When Zambia got independent, China was one of the first countries to recognise her as a new state and on October 29, 1964, five days after her independence from British rule, the Embassy of China was opened in Lusaka.
And when landlocked Zambia needed a critical link to the sea, China was that country that provided financial and technical assistance to enable the construction of the 1,860 km TAZARA from Dar-es-Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi.
At the time when Zambia needed to wean itself from dependence on the rails and ports of Angola, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and apartheid South Africa in order to have access to the sea, she together with Tanzania, approached a number of countries such as Germany, France, Canada, the United States of America and its former colonial master Britain among others, but they did not get a favourable response.
Original: http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/china-toasts-55-years-of-friendship-with-zambia/