President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Thursday held a bilateral meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

On his departure for the SADC Summit in Angola, Chakwera said he will proceed to BRICS Summit with a mission to engage India and China on Malawi’s debt restructuring.

India and China are two of the five BRICS members who also include Brazil, Rusia, and South Africa.

After the meeting, President Chakwera said the bilateral talks between the two leaders have cemented the cooperation between Malawi and China with the aim of accelerating infrastructure development and macroeconomic stability.

Chakwera writes on his Facebook page: “Fruitful maiden bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping. We have cemented our partnership in accelerating infrastructural development and macroeconomic stability.”

Malawi’s relationship with the govertnment of the Republic of China dates back to 2007 when Malawi cut ties with Taiwan. Since then the relationship between the two countries has grown from strength to strength evidenced by massive infrastructure the government of China has been funding in the country including the Bingu National Stadium, the Bingu Convention Centre, the Presidential Hotels and a number of road networks across the country.