Staff members of PowerChina Zambia branch celebrate the launch ceremony of the Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station.

China and Zambia's shared commitment to advance the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and other high-level cooperation programs will help the two sides achieve sustainable growth and common prosperity, said government officials and business experts.

As both countries stand ready to transform the profound friendship into a strong driving force for win-win cooperation in the new era and push bilateral relations to a new level, China and Zambia will have more opportunities to deepen cooperation under the BRI and in mining, agriculture, economy and trade, science and technology, infrastructure construction, healthcare and other fields, they said.

Li Wentao, executive director of the Institute of African Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the two countries, as long-standing partners, will seek cooperation in a wider range of areas and achieve more consensus in international affairs after the two countries announced the elevation of their relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in September.

"China and Africa are engaged in cooperation in many fields, the essence of which is to promote many African nations' independent development," Li said, adding China is also keen to work with Zambia to implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue to enhance the strategic and sustainable nature of bilateral cooperation.

Liu Xingguo, a researcher at the China Enterprise Confederation in Beijing, said China and Zambia should not only enhance and broaden their collaboration in traditional sectors like mining and infrastructure construction but should foster novel growth opportunities in areas such as green development, the digital economy and the modernization of industry and agriculture.

"By pursuing these avenues, they can embark on a path of modernization characterized by mutual support and shared rejuvenation among developing countries," he added.

Gou Ping, vice-chairman of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said SASAC will continue to assist in cooperation between China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises and Zambia in such fields as mineral resources, transportation, electricity, manufacturing and agriculture.

"Looking ahead, China's central SOEs, together with their Zambian counterparts, will continuously enhance the quality of cooperation, expand collaboration opportunities and focus on enriching the cooperation outcomes in a bid to make more contributions to taking China-Zambia and China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to new heights and achieve greater outcomes," said Gou.

China and Zambia have jointly built a new modern terminal at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and the new Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport, equipping Zambia with new aviation hubs, according to information released by the SASAC.

Chinese-built milling plants have also significantly improved the supply of food and stabilized prices for Zambian people; the Kafue Bulk Water Supply Project has been delivered to ensure that about 500,000 people in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, have access to clean and safe water.

Meanwhile, the Power Construction Corp of China, or PowerChina, a Beijing-based central SOE, put the Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station in Zambia into operation in March.

Located over the Kafue River, about 90 kilometers south of Lusaka, the station is equipped with five mixed-flow generator units and has a total installed capacity of 750 megawatts.

The station will improve the African country's power supply by 38 percent, said Wang Xiaojun, vice-president of PowerChina.

The Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station — an iconic project under the framework of the BRI — is expected to play a key role in power regulation during peak electricity consumption periods, he said.

Since the first generator unit started operation, the station has generated more than 4.73 billion kilowatt-hours of power, helping to relieve power shortages across Zambia.