On October 8, Ambassador Long Zhou paid a farewell courtesy call on Malawian President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.

Ambassador Long reviewed the progress of China-Malawi relations in recent years. He said that under the joint guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Chakwera, the bilateral relations have been developing rapidly and steadily. During the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit, President Xi Jinping and President Chakwera hold a meeting and decided to upgrade China-Malawi relations to a strategic partnership, which opens a new chapter for our bilateral relations. China stands ready to work with Malawi to implement the important consensus of two heads of state and jointly build a high-level China-Malawi community with a shared future.

President Chakwera commended Ambassador Long’s contribution to the development of the bilateral relations during his tenure, said that China is an important partner of Malawi, and the Malawian government attaches importance to developing relations with China. The relationship between the two countries has been upgraded to a strategic partnership, which is a historic breakthrough. The Malawian side is deeply pleased and grateful for this, and will continue to adhere to the one-China principle, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China, and further advance our bilateral relations.