The Pulitzer Center published on 30 April 2025 a commentary titled "Six Decades Later, Zambians Ask, 'Were Chinese Mining Infrastructure Investments Worth It?'" by Kang-Chun Cheng.
Mining, especially copper, accounts for almost three-quarters of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings and total exports. In the 1970s, China financed and built the railway for transporting minerals from Zambia to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Chinese companies invested heavily in Zambian mines. But human rights abuses, labor law infractions, and environmental practices have soured many Zambians on China's engagement in the country.
