Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, who was in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), on Sept. 3, 2024. The two leaders jointly announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.
"I would just be thankful that Malawi, after entering into a relationship with China 17 years ago, we are seeing the fruit of that relationship. Malawi definitely has treasured the establishment of this," said Chakwera in an interview with People's Daily Online.
Chakwera expressed his optimism about the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, saying that Malawi is committed to further deepening cooperation with China across various sectors.
"I’m looking forward to having our trade enhanced to a level never seen before," he said.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the China-Malawi relationship has enjoyed steady and sound development with solid political mutual trust and fruitful mutually beneficial cooperation. Chakwera emphasized that the reason he appreciates the relationship with China is because China respects other nations' development paths and seeks to help them realize their visions.
"I think this is one reason I appreciate our relationship with China, because it is one that helps us in our own setting," he said, noting that China's support is not distant, but rooted in extensive and in-depth interaction.
"China is a great example of a partner that gives you a hand so you're able to achieve your own dreams," he said.
China and Malawi signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation in 2022. In recent years, Chinese companies have played a key role in developing Malawi's infrastructure, significantly boosting the local economy.
"You can see how this initiative can help us link up through roads, through rail, even through water. That way, the cost of trading and the cost of transporting goods and services becomes low, and the people's livelihood is then enhanced because the prices of things go down," Chakwera said.
Amid the complexities of the global landscape, Chakwera called for greater global unity and stressed the importance of South-South cooperation, noting that such collaborations offer vital opportunities for addressing shared challenges and fostering mutual development.
"No country can survive and thrive by themselves. There is already [a] need, forced upon us by these types of events, for us to collaborate," he said. "I believe, in multilateralism that has rules that you follow so that you are able to make sure that everybody is being served, [both] smaller countries as well as big countries."
Chakwera also highlighted China's key role in South-South cooperation. "China already supports the developing world, even at the highest level, like the United Nations, where they sit on the Security Council. Both China and Malawi sit on the Human Rights Council, and we pursue individualized as well as collective responsibilities," he said.
Reflecting on the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Chakwera noted that it provides an excellent platform to strengthen China-Africa cooperation, helping both sides tackle risks and challenges while promoting shared prosperity and win-win outcomes.
Looking to the future, Chakwera expressed a desire for expanded cooperation in trade, human development, and tackling joint challenges between China and Africa. "But for us, particularly in Malawi, we're looking for new avenues doing trade or doing business and investments that benefit all countries," he said.
