On January 7, 2021 local time, Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Gaborone.

Wang Yi conveyed cordial greetings and New Year wishes from President Xi Jinping to Mokgweetsi Masisi. Wang Yi said, since taking office, President Masisi has cherished the friendly tradition between the two countries, firmly adhered to the one-China principle, timely restored mutual trust between the two countries and pushed bilateral relations on the track of sound development, for which China highly appreciates. In foreign relations, China adheres to the principle that all countries, big or small, are equal. China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs, and stands ready to be a long-term and reliable cooperative partner of Botswana. We are willing to join in Botswana to further implement the important consensus between the two heads of state, and the achievements of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19. China is also willing to share state governance experience, strengthen the party-to-party and people-to-people exchanges, and deepen post-pandemic bilateral cooperation in various fields with Botswana. Both sides shall take the opportunity of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote transformation and upgrading of bilateral cooperation, and help to accelerate Botswana's process of industrialization and digitalization in order to benefit more people of the country.

Wang Yi said that Africa has achieved political independence through a hard struggle, but it still needs to make continued efforts to truly achieve economic independence. China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries including Botswana within the framework of the FOCAC, ensure the success of the new session of the FOCAC, upgrade China-Africa cooperation, help African countries turn their resource advantages into development advantages and accelerate their capacity for independent development. The two sides should also strengthen coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs, firmly support multilateralism, oppose unilateral bullying, promote democracy in international relations and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

President Masisi asked Wang Yi to extend his sincere greetings and best wishes to President Xi Jinping, and said that Botswana attaches great importance to the Botswana-China relations. Botswana takes the one-China principle as the fundamental basis of the development of bilateral relations and remains firm in this regard. Masisi thanked the Chinese side for its tremendous assistance to the Botswanan government and people in achieving development and fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. Botswana admires China's development achievements and is full of expectations for the future of Botswana-China relations. Botswana is willing to be a reliable partner of mutual benefit with China. China is welcome to increase investment in Botswana, strengthen cooperation in industrial parks, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation and other fields, and help Botswana contribute "patents of Botswana" to the world. Botswana is ready to strengthen party-to-party exchanges with China, expand cooperation under the framework of the FOCAC and work with China to overcome the "middle-income trap" and achieve high-quality development.

On the same day, Wang Yi also held talks with Botswana's Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Lemogang Kwape. The two foreign ministers signed an MoU between the two governments on jointly promoting the construction of the BRI and other cooperation documents.