China on Tuesday congratulated Malawi's new president, Peter Mutharika, on the occasion of his inauguration.

China and Malawi have rapidly developed bilateral cooperative relations since diplomatic ties were established in 2007, yielding considerable results and bringing tangible benefits to both peoples, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

China is ready to cooperate in all fields based on respect, equality and mutual benefit, and to contribute to the social and economic development of Malawi, Hong told a regular news briefing.

"China is delighted to see the international community increase aid and support for Malawi to help its development," Hong said.

Malawi, traditionally dependent on Western aid donors, will look for "new friends" in countries such as China and Russia, President Peter Mutharika said at his inauguration Monday.

"We will continue with traditional relationships, but we are now looking for new friends in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Russia," Mutharika was quoted as saying.