The Zambian government has said it is willing to see an economically stronger China that will contribute to the stability of the world.

"I don't see any reason for China not to grow and I'd like to see China grow even more, which is good for the stability of the world," Zambian government spokesman Vernon Mwaanga told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

"China has the right to develop and continue moving forward to uplift the living standards of its people," Mwaanga said, adding that China's growth would not be a threat to any other countries.

"On the contrary, the world will benefit from China's development and economic growth," the spokesman said.

Having visited China for more than 20 times over the last 40 years, Mwaanga, who is also the Information Minister of Zambia, said he witnessed the progress China had made during the last few decades.

He said when he first came to China in 1965, there were few cars on the streets and bicycles were the most common vehicle.

"Whenever there was a car, people on the street would stop to have a look," the minister recalled.

But today, China is selling over four million cars to individuals last year, Mwaanga said, adding that he was sure that more cars will be sold in China this year.

He attributed the tremendous growth China has achieved to the economic reform the Chinese government has been undertaking since 1978.

Moreover, China has grasped the opportunity brought with by the globalization of economy, the minister observed.

"China has taken full advantage of the globalization and free trade, and has benefited from the new technology of the world. China knows how to use the technology to develop the country and to make a better life for its people," Mwaanga said.

"We want to continue to see a very stable China which is able to improve the living standards of its people and contribute to the world stability," he further said.

As to the relations between China and other developing countries, Mwaanga said China was on the right track and was maintaining a very good relations with these countries, noting that the recent visits by Chinese President Hu Jintao to several African countries like Kenya and Nigeria were clear indications.

The minister said China and Zambia have established good cooperation for many years in areas such as agriculture, investment, road and housing construction, etc.

"This is the type of cooperation that is meaningful to our people because they can see with their own eyes that China has been involved in the development of growing number of programs and joint ventures with Zambia," Mwaanga said.

Statistics from the country's investment center shows that Chinese investment in Zambia increased more than three fold in 2005 to 41 million U.S. dollars, which brings accumulated investment up to 316 million dollars since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1964.

China has become the third largest investor in Zambia after South Africa and Britain, according to the investment center.

"We are satisfied that China and ourselves have been doing the right things to consolidate the ties existing between us, and we' ll not allow people with ill-will to come between us and to spoil the good relationship we shared for years," he said.

He said the Zambian government would make full use of the existing institutions to explore further areas of cooperation between China and Zambia to ensure that the relations between the two countries get stronger.

"I am sure that is what China is doing with other developing countries," the spokesman said.

Source: Xinhua