LUSAKA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Friday that the country's relations with China are mutually beneficial and no malicious propaganda will break the friendship.

Lungu made the remarks while opening the third session of the 12th National Assembly.

"Our friendship with China is mutual and no amount of malicious propaganda will deter us from the opportunities that lie ahead," Lungu said in response to verbal attacks made by both local and foreign media on the Zambia-China relationship.

Zambia, he said, has a choice on which countries to associate with and on what terms to agree to in bilateral relations, adding that the relations between China and Zambia are of mutual benefit.

"It (China) will never colonize Zambia, because unlike others, it has no record of colonialism," he said, adding that the relations hold common good for the people of both nations.

In his remarks, Lungu also mentioned a China-supported project dubbed "access to satellite television by 10,000 African villages," saying it is a further practical benefit of the country's digital migration program.

Cooperative projects with China have created more jobs in Zambia, the president said.

"Our vision as a country is to become a prosperous middle-income nation by 2030," the president said at the session whose theme is Working Together to Achieve Vision 2030.