China, Malawi celebrate bilateral relations

The Chinese and Malawi governments on Friday celebrated their seven years of bilateral ties and pledged to support each other in the years to come.

The two governments established bilateral relations on December 28 2007 after Malawi switched ties from Taiwan.

Speaking at the Chinese Ambassador’s residence in Lilongwe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda described Malawi and China’s ties as being beneficial to the two countries.

He said within the seven-year period, China has helped Malawi in a number of areas such as education, health and defence.

“Today, we have no doubt that the decision [to switch diplomatic ties] was made for a good cause, especially looking at what China has done to this country,” said Chaponda.

He said among the notable projects that China has given to Malawi include the construction of the Chitipa-Karonga Road, Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must), the Parliament Building, National Stadium, Five Star Hotel and Presidential Villas.

He said that to further strengthen the bilateral relations, the two countries are engaged in further talks on what could be done in the future.

Chaponda said the construction of the new Malawi Defence Forces (MDF) headquarters was one of the projects China was willing to start soon.

“As a country, we submitted our new projects and we are currently discussing on what should start first,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Qingyang said since the establishment of diplomatic ties, development projects have fast-tracked in Malawi.

He said this was a reflection of sincerity, real results affinity and good faith, representing the four pillars of china’s foreign policy towards Africa.

Zhang said China supports Malawi in exploring a development path that suits its national conditions.