STORY: Talk with Ambassadors | BRI offers many opportunities to countries like Zambia: Zambian ambassador
SHOOTING TIME: file
DATELINE: Dec. 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:07:14
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
6. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
7. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
8. SOUNDBITE 7 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
9. SOUNDBITE 8 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
10. SOUNDBITE 9 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
11. SOUNDBITE 10 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
Zambia, located in central Southern Africa, is rich in natural resources and has a long history. Today, we have arrived here at the Embassy of Zambia in China to talk with Zambian Ambassador. What is his story with China? What are his thoughts and understanding about Belt and Road Initiative? Let's go and find out.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"Your excellency, as the newly assumed Zambian Ambassador to China, how does it feel coming to China? And what are your expectation for your tenure here in China?"

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian Ambassador to China
"Let me just begin by saying, I'm deeply humbled to be appointed Ambassador of Zambia to the People's Republic of China. As you know, China is full of vibrancy, dynamism, not only on the local, regional, but also the global scale.
It's really, really inspiring. In terms of my expectations, of course, I expect that I'll play a part in enhancing the already longstanding, very good relationship between Zambia and China."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): YANG LINLIN, Belt and Road Portal Editor
"This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. What role does BRI play from a global perspective? And what is the significance of promoting Belt and Road cooperation?"

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
"From a global perspective, I think the BRI serves as a significant platform for international cooperation, particularly between China and other countries, especially developing countries like Zambia. And in the process, fostering economic growth and building stronger ties among nations, which is very critical.
BRI is so important in a multipolar world we're living in today, and therefore allows more equitable distribution of resources and opportunities that exist in the world.
And by creating avenues for trade and cultural exchange, the BRI can contribute to global stability and encourage more interconnectedness and more interdependence between countries and between peoples, and generally improve the standards of living amongst people and encourage shared future among nations. So, certainly, the BRI is a very critical initiative that all nations should support to facilitate, improve the standards of living."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
"Thank you. Since Zambia joined the BRI in 2018, what achievements and breakthroughs have been made through the exchange and cooperation between China and Zambia?"

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
"I must say that has been a substantial deepening of cooperation in various sectors between Zambia and China, since we joined the BRI in 2018. But most notably is the development in the infrastructure. We have seen improvement in road networks, in various towns, in our country. And we've also seen developments at airports.
Those developments could not have happened without BRI. We have also seen further developments in terms of exchanges, education, as well as cultural activities between the two countries."

SOUNDBITE 7 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
"From the perspective of promoting the integration of the BRI with Zambia's development plans, in your opinion, what should we focus on (in our) future cooperation?"

SOUNDBITE 8 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
"Certainly, the BRI has been very effective and good for infrastructure development and cooperation between countries in various areas.
First of this is sustainable development. It should be inclusive development, so that you remove many of our people out of poverty as the country develops.
Second, it's the capacity building, because at the end of the day, even the infrastructure will require to be maintained by our workforce.
Thirdly, in the area of agriculture and food security, for instance, Zambia has a lot of potential in that area.
Then there's also the issue of technology transfer. There's also the area of tourism and cultural exchange."

SOUNDBITE 9 (English): YANG LINLIN, Xinhua correspondent
"In recent years, China has been attaching increasing importance to clean energy cooperation with Africa. In your opinion, in which sectors lies the potential of (China-Zambia) cooperation in terms of green economy?"

SOUNDBITE 10 (English): IVAN ZYUULU, Zambian ambassador to China
"There are a number of potential sectors where cooperation could be enhanced. One, first of these is renewable energy. As you know in Zambia, we have a lot of sunshine.
Then we also can talk about sustainable agriculture, eco-friendly agriculture, or funding methods.
There is also good waste management and recycling. There is also the issue of green transportation.
The other area is the water conservation. 
So, if we are able to harness water and irrigate appropriately, then you'll be able to increase the productivity as well as increase output."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)