By Cedric Nkungula

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera will on Thursday 29th June 2023 commission the first Consulate General of Malawi in China’s Hunan Province.

According to Malawi Ambassador to China Allan Joseph Chintedza, the move will see China opening up for increased trade to Malawi because Hunan is renowned as a hub for hosting major international trade fairs and exhibitions in China.

Chintedza has since hailed President Chakwera for accepting the invitation to attend the third China – Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) as a special guest of honour saying it is an embodiment of strong diplomatic and bilateral ties between the two countries.

Chintedza said it was imperative for Malawians to deem Malawi’s participation at the expo as very valuable stressing that it is only the Malawi leader who has been exclusively invited by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to be a special guest of honour, who will speak on behalf of Africa at the high – level stage.

Explained the Malawi ambassador, “I think his coming as a guest of honour simply re – establishes commitment that the ties between Malawi and China are growing from strength to strength.”

Commenting on the expo, Chintedza stated that the event will help expose Malawian exhibitors who have accompanied President Chakwera, as they will showcase their respective goods and services to multitudes of patrons thereby opening up a big window to increase the value of Malawi exports.

“You may also be aware that China has just issued phytosanitary approval for Malawi to start exporting soybeans, and that is equally a huge milestone as it will improve the growth of exports from Malawi to China,” said Chintedza.

Quizzed to comment on the trade volumes between the two countries, the ambassador recalled that in 2019, the trade gap heavily tilted in favour of the Asian giant as it earned exports value amounting to $35 million while at the same time, Malawi only earned a paltry $500,000 from her exports to China.

During the period under review, Chintedza explained that while China was exporting more of mechanical and Information and Technology material, on one hand, Malawi was busy exporting raw materials which could earn less value on the market.

“That is why this trip is quite huge and important because if you can manage to fix that gap, or make it narrow, it would bring a lot of benefits in terms of not just increase in investments but also for our foreign exchange earnings,” he said.

Minister of Trade Simplex Chithyola said the expo presents a huge opportunity for Malawi to tackle her ever – yawning gap between imports and exports.

The expo is being held under the theme “Common Development for a Shared Future,” and will focus on key areas and emerging fields of China – Africa economic and trade cooperation.