There have increasingly been closer political, security and economic ties between China and African nations. Trade between China and Africa increased by 700% during the 1990s, and China is currently Africa's largest trading partner.
China is Zambia's biggest creditor. Lusaka owes some $6 billion to Chinese entities. In July, Zambia's finance ministry announced it was canceling $2 billion of undisbursed loans from its external creditors, $1.6 billion of which are from Chinese banks