On 16 August 2024, President Hakainde Hichilema attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Sinomine Kitumba Mine in Mumbwa, Central Province. Ambassador of China to Zambia Han Jing, Sinomine Resource Group Chairman Wang Pingwei, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe, Minister of Central Province Felix Nkulukusa, Ambassador of Zambia to China Ivan Zyuulu attended the event.

Ambassador Han noted in his speech that the Kitumba Mine is located in the Central Province with natural endowment, and the ground-breaking of this project marked another milestone of the mining cooperation between China and Zambia. The Chinese government will continue to support the development of Zambia mining industry, encouraging Chinese enterprises to operate legally and compliantly, and hope more cooperation consensus be reached during the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to be held next month.

President Hakainde Hichilema welcomed Ambassador Han to witness the ground-breaking ceremony together, and noted that the Kitumba mine project not only promoted local employment, but also bring tangible benefits to the Zambian people. This project is one of the follow-up cooperation results of my visit to China last September. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to President Xi, Chinese government and enterprises, for supporting Zambian economic development, and welcome more Chinese enterprises to increase investments in Zambia in the future.