Chinese premier's visit to Zambia focuses on reviving a Cold War-era railway to help mineral access

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang will start a two-day visit to the southern African nation of Zambia on Wednesday that will focus on the $1.4 billion refurbishment of a Cold War-era railway line to further improve China's access to critical minerals.

China is heavily invested in mining in Zambia, which is one of the world's top producers of copper that is integral to the production of electronic devices.

Li, who holds China's No. 2 leadership position after President Xi Jinping, will meet with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday, Hichilema said in a statement. The two countries will sign documents to start the upgrade of the Tazara railway line linking Zambia's mines to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam on Africa's east coast.

China, Zambia and Tanzania signed a deal in September giving the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation concessions to carry out the upgrade.

The Tazara rail line was built by the three countries in the 1970s to avoid relying on transport links through what was then Rhodesia and South Africa, which were under white minority governments.

The railway has taken on renewed significance for China after a United States-backed project to build a railway from Zambia and neighboring Congo out to Africa's Atlantic Ocean coast in Angola gained momentum last year when then-U.S. President Joe Biden visited part of that project.

The two railways, one going west and the other going east, represent competition between the U.S. and China for access to the critical minerals that are also key for renewable energy technology, electric car batteries and defense systems.

China is the dominant player in mining in Zambia and Congo and leads the global race for critical minerals. President Donald Trump has moved to increase U.S. supply chains in a bid to counter its economic rival.

Li is visiting Zambia on the way to South Africa for this weekend's Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, the first to be held in Africa. The U.S. is boycotting the summit over Trump's criticism of the South African government.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

FILE - Chinese Premier Li Qiang enters a hall for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 18, 2025. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool Photo via AP, File)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office didn't reach any conclusions about responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death, which the agency said was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means it resulted from another person's actions — or inaction — but doesn't necessarily mean that a crime was committed.

Erie County officials planned a news conference later Wednesday.

A message seeking comment was sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency has previously said that Shah Alam “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance” when agents dropped him off Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons restaurant north of Buffalo's downtown. The agency said the establishment was chosen as a warm, safe location near his last known address.

The restaurant was closed at the time, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan has said.

Shah Alam, 56, had been released from a county jail and then briefly detained by Border Patrol, until the federal agency determined he wasn't eligible for deportation. His family, which had been awaiting his release from jail, wasn't informed of it.

Shah Alam’s lawyer ultimately reported him missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.

On Feb. 24, he was found dead near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, or when he died.

FILE - This image from body camera video provided by the Buffalo Police Department shows Nurul Amin Shah Alam, center, led by Buffalo Police officers, Feb. 15, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Buffalo Police Department via AP, File)