During her visit to Zambia, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris urged China to cancel Zambia’s debt and pledged to provide billions of dollars in aid to the country.
The visit comes amid China’s significant influence over Zambia, exemplified by the $1 billion airport in Lusaka, built by Beijing.
Zambia has been seeking to restructure its debt since becoming the first African country to default during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. China is Zambia’s largest bilateral creditor, and Harris called on official bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction to support Zambia’s economic recovery. Harris emphasized that the visit was not intended to counter China’s presence in Africa but rather to strengthen existing relations between the U.S. and Zambia.
The global rivalry between the U.S. and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris’ journey, and Washington is concerned that Africa is slipping further into Beijing’s sphere of influence. However, Harris has focused on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition, acknowledging the limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent.
During her visit, Harris also visited the site of her maternal grandfather’s home in Lusaka, where he lived as an Indian public servant in the 1960s.
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