Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa arrived in Beijing on Thursday for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

A total of 48 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China are to participate in the two-day summit which is scheduled to start on Nov. 4.

Briefing media ahead of his departure, Mwanawasa said Zambia would take advantage of the summit to further friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

China and Zambia established diplomatic relations on Oct. 29, 1964. In 2003, Mwanawasa visited China. In 2004, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, visited Zambia.

Zambia is a destination country for Chinese citizens and tourist groups. Bilateral trade hit 300 million U.S. dollars in 2005.

After the summit, the Zambian president will proceed to visit Luoyang, an ancient capital of China in central China's Henan Province and Shenzhen, a economically booming port city in south China's Guangdong Province.

On his return journey, he will visit London.

Source: Xinhua