LUSAKA, Zambia (AFX) - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday brought his eight-nation African tour to Zambia, a copper-rich country where China's growing clout has prompted charges of exploitation and emerged as a volatile political issue.
Huge photos of Hu and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa greeted motorists on Lusaka's main roads in preparation for the tightly orchestrated three-day visit, which follows stops earlier this week in Cameroon, Liberia and Sudan.
'I am sure that this visit will serve to take Zambian-Chinese relations to a higher level,' Hu said in a written statement.
Hu has used the tour to cement China's increasing economic and political ties and its fast-growing role as a foreign donor throughout the continent.
The Chinese leader was expected to attend a state banquet and meet with Mwanawasa, who has cultivated close ties with China. The country is a major foreign aid donor to Mwanawasa's government, with investments in Zambia topping $500 million, according to China's state-run news agency, Xinhua.
China has also poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Zambia's copper sector, which accounts for 60 percent of the impoverished nation's exports.
Hu's visit to Lusaka is expected to focus on new Chinese aid for Zambia and the inauguration Sunday of an economic partnership zone in Zambia's Copperbelt province, which has become a key source of copper for China's growing economy.
But the Chinese delegation decided against visiting the province, where 51 Zambian workers died in a 2005 explosion at a Chinese-run mine. Accidents and concerns over poor working conditions at Chinese-run copper mines -- plus resentment over an influx of Chinese traders into the local apparel industry -- fueled political backlash over the Chinese presence in last September's presidential elections.
Opposition challenger Michael Sata won support in urban areas after criticizing what he called 'exploiter' Chinese investors.
'They're not here to develop Zambia, they're here to develop China,' said Guy Scott, a Sata ally who represents Lusaka's central district in parliament.
The government has not invited Sata's party to public events during Hu's visit, according to the state-owned Daily Mail newspaper.
Hu's visit was preceded by a raft of new Chinese commitments, including the release of more than $6 million for the construction of a new soccer stadium in the mining town of Ndola and a $39 million grant for road building.
While many Zambians welcome the Chinese presence, many were more wary.
Joan van Otterdijk, a Zambian textile and clothing shop owner in Lusaka said cheap, low-quality Chinese-made textiles being sold by Chinese traders there are 'destroying our business.'
He said China should concentrate on the mining sector 'rather than putting themselves into these local businesses.'
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