On January 31, 2016 local time, President Arthur Peter Mutharika of Malawi met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the presidential palace in Lilongwe, capital of Malawi.

Arthur Peter Mutharika said that since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Malawi and China eight years ago, the bilateral relations have achieved vigorous development. China is a sincere friend of Malawi, making significant contributions to the development of Malawi in various fields such as infrastructure construction, agriculture, education and defense. The Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) achieved a great success. The ten major China-Africa cooperation plans proposed by President Xi Jinping highly match the revitalization plan for Africa made by the African Union (AU). Malawi is ready to, under the framework of China-Africa cooperation, continue its cooperation with China in fields such as power stations, airports, highway construction and e-governance, so as to make Malawi take on a new look. Malawi will adhere to the One-China policy and support China’s great cause of peaceful reunification.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping’s sincere greetings to Arthur Peter Mutharika. Wang Yi said the fruitful results during the past eight years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Malawi show that it was very correct for Malawi to make the major strategic decision to establish diplomatic relations with China eight years ago, and this decision completely conforms to the fundamental and long-term interests of the country and its people.

Wang Yi said that considering the urgent needs of African development and advancing with the times, President Xi Jinping put forward the ten major cooperation plans in the Johannesburg Summit of the FOCAC, receiving warm response from the African countries. These cooperation plans go beyond the traditional trade with an aim to improve the self-development capacity of the African countries and promote economic diversification and independent and sustainable development in Africa. China regards China-Malawi cooperation as an indispensable part of developing cooperation with Africa. Considering the characteristics of Malawi’s national situation and development needs, China is willing to give priority to the cooperation in five key areas including agriculture, processing and manufacturing, infrastructure construction, human resources development and health care, so as to inject new impetus for economic and social development in Malawi and push China-Malawi relations to a higher level.

Wang Yi said that in order to better promote cooperation in the five areas mentioned above, both sides should also strive to construct two strong supports. The first one is to bolster political basis by firmly supporting each other on issues related to their core interests and major concerns as well as enhancing communication and coordination in international and regional affairs. The second one is to consolidate public opinion basis by boosting communication and cooperation in areas such as media, think tanks, youth and culture so as to make the friendship between the two countries take deeper roots in the hearts of the two peoples.