Approved by the CPC Central Committee, Shen Xiaoming, member of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, led a CPC delegation to visit Malawi between December 1 and 3, 2024. The trip aimed to promote the implementation of the important consensus reached by the heads of state of China and Malawi and the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).  It sought to deepen the relationship between the two parties and the two countries; strengthen friendship and cooperation between Hunan and Malawi; and, contribute to building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

On December 1, Secretary Shen and his entourage had an in-depth and friendly conversation with Lazarus Chakwera, chairman of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and president of the Republic of Malawi. Both sides agreed to work together to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, intensify inter-party exchanges, enhance political mutual trust, strengthen practical cooperation in various fields, and advance the continuous development of China-Malawi strategic partnership. After the meeting, the two sides attended the "Light up Africa" — Sany PV + Storage Machine Donation Ceremony. Sany Group donated 500 sets of PV+ storage all-in-one machines to Malawi, which can better meet the local people's daily electricity needs.

On December 1, Secretary Shen met with President Chakwera and attended the "Light up Africa" — Sany PV + Storage Machine Donation Ceremony.

During the visit, Secretary Shen and his party also met with Richard Banda, MCP secretary general, and Joyce Banda, president of the Malawi People's Party (MPP) and former president of Malawi, respectively. He noted that Hunan would promote economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia, thereby contributing to the enhancement of the friendship between China and Malawi. The Malawian side highly appreciated China's great development achievements under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. They hoped to learn from China's experience in governing the party and the country as well as promoting economic development, so as to continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance the well-being of people's livelihood.

On December 2, Secretary Shen met with MCP Secretary General Richard Banda.

On December 2, Secretary Shen met with Joyce Banda, MPP president and Malawi's former president.

In recent years, numerous Chinese-funded enterprises have come from afar to invest and develop in Africa, making important contributions to deepening China-Africa exchanges and collaboration. At a symposium with Chinese-funded enterprises in Malawi, Secretary Shen, on behalf of the provincial Party committee and the provincial government, expressed his admiration for the pioneering spirit of entrepreneurs, and thanked them for their contributions to the promotion of China-Africa cooperation and friendship. He expected the entrepreneurs to actively implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy as well as the principles of China's Africa policy put forward by President Xi Jinping — sincerity, real results, amity and good faith. He called for continuously deepening economic and trade collaboration with Africa, maintaining the good image of Chinese-funded enterprises and Chinese people, and helping boost China's influence and core competitiveness.

On December 2, Secretary Shen had a symposium with persons in charge of Chinese-funded enterprises in Malawi.

In Salima, Shen met with James Mwenda, district commissioner (DC) for Salima and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mineral development between the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province and a mining company of Malawi, and a MOU on titanium alluvial mining between the Hunan-Malawi International Trade Co., Ltd. and the Mineral Development and Planning Division of the Ministry of Mining of Malawi. According to the MOUs, Hunan and Malawi will work together to promote high-quality mining development to achieve mutual benefits.

On December 3, Secretary Shen and  James Mwenda, DC for Salima witnessed the signing of relevant MOUs.

Secretary Shen also attended and witnessed the signing of a MOU between the China-Africa Technical Measures to Trade Research and Evaluation Base (Changsha) and the Malawi Bureau of Standards. Both sides will explore the establishment of an information exchange mechanism on technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures between China and Malawi, deepen standards cooperation, and promote trade facilitation.

On December 2, Secretary Shen attended and witnessed the signing of a MOU between the China-Africa Technical Measures to Trade Research and Evaluation Base (Changsha) and the Malawi Bureau of Standards.

During their stay in Malawi, the delegation also had a working exchange with Wang Hao, Chargé d' Affaires a.i of the Chinese Embassy in Malawi.

Photos taken by Tang Jun and Yang Fan.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn