Chakwera hosts Chinese delegation, hails them for donation of solar panels to Malawi

Malawi Leader President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, on Sunday hosted high level Chinese delegation.

The high profile meeting took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during an audience, with a delegation from the Communist Party of China (CPC) of Hunan Province, led by Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee, Hon. Shen Xiaoming, at Kamuzu Palace.

During the meeting with the delegation, President Chakwera commended Chinese Government for various assistance being rendered to Malawi government.

During the meeting Chinese Government took the opportunity to present the Malawi government with 500 Sanyi “Light Up Africa” integrated, solar panel machines worth USD200 000 each, handed over by Mr. Xiang Wenbo, Chairman of the Board of Sanyi Group.

In June 2023 the group also donated a forklift worth USD150 000 to the Malawi government, when president Chakwera visited the City of Changsha, China.

During the symbolic donation of one of these solar panels, President Chakwera thanked the Chinese government through his counterpart, President Xi Xinping for demonstrating such commitment to Malawi and cordial relations between the two countries.

During the meeting , Chakwera called on the Chinese government to invest in the country’s Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM), sectors citing the energy sector as an enabler of the country’s ATM industrialization agenda.

The discussions focused on charting a course that will strengthen the already fruitful diplomatic ties between China and Malawi, and further pave way for trade through “standardization cooperation” and implementing results of the “Beijing Summit”.

President Chakwera asserted that the visit is a continuation of dialogue between the Chinese government and Malawi government, following bilateral talks with President Xi Xinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa; discussions on China during the Forum on Africa- China Cooperation (FOCAC), in September this year; as well as his visit to China during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in June 2023 – testament to the power of diplomatic relations.

Hon Xiaoming equally hailed the cooperation between the two countries thus far and commended Malawi for being “diligent, kind and warm…”, adding that the purpose of the committee’s visit to Malawi was therefore not just to leverage bilateral relations, but also to implement ten partnership actions drawn from the Beijing Summit, that will facilitate investment in Malawi’s key sectors, including mining.

Hon Xiaoming further added that his delegation includes business entities that are poised to sign standardization cooperation agreements with the Malawi Government over the course of their visit to the country.

The standardization cooperation aims to harmonize quality in the production of both Chinese and Malawian products, to ensure they meet the standards for both countries, to enable smooth trade.

In this respect the CPC – Hunan Committee, will also be engaging the Malawi Bureau of Standards during their visit to Malawi.

The move is expected to significantly improve trade flows between China and Malawi, that are sometimes hampered by quality of goods from both parties.

He stressed that the trade that Malawi hopes for, can only be achieved through industrialization, however it requires an effective energy sector, and as such the donation is a welcome development, that will aid the country’s efforts to achieve its 2063 goals.

President Chakwera has further committed to ensuring that the standardization cooperation agreements are implemented.

Also present during the discussions was Mr. Wang Hao, Charge D’affaires of the Chinese Embassy; Mr. Xu Zhengxian, Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee among others.

The Malawi government was represented by Min of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Nancy Tembo; Min of Energy, Hon. Ibrahim Matola; Min of Trade, Hon. Sosten Gwengwe; Min of Local Government, Hon Richard Chimwendo Banda and Malawi’s Ambassador to China, Mr Allan Chintedza among other government officials.

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