Li Qiangmin

Ambassador to Zambia

Place of Birth: Hunan

As he responds to the fiery criticism of opposition Patriotic Front leader Michael ‘King Cobra’ Sata, Li Qiangmin is more outspoken than most Chinese diplomats, staunchly defending his country’s investments in Zambia. However, Li has been careful not to cross the line his predecessor, Li Baodong, overstepped in 2006 by threatening to cut relations if Sata was elected president. It was an outburst that cost China goodwill, though in the end not enough to cost Levy Mwanawasa victory. Now, activity in the Copperbelt is picking up, with operations at the Luanshya copper mine having restarted in December 2009 under the state-owned China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Company. Li promised that investment there would reach US$400 million.

Li came to the Foreign Ministry after rising through the provincial government of his native Hunan. He was Deputy Director of Hunan’s Foreign Economic and Trade Commission before being despatched as counsellor to China’s embassy to Israel (2000-01). He then spent two years as Ambassador to Uganda before serving as Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Ministry’s African Affairs Department (2005-07). In April 2007, he was appointed Ambassador to Zambia. He is also China’s special representative to the Lusaka-based Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. The relationship requires some delicacy since COMESA’s roster includes Swaziland – Taiwan’s staunch ally.

Li’s embassy will be keeping an eye on the Tanzania-Zambia Railways Authority project, which received a $39 mn. interest-free loan from China to fund much-needed renovations in January. The TAZARA railway has long held a special place in the heart of official Chinese discourse; the mammoth project was an early, dramatic example of Chinese infrastructure-building in Africa.