confirms establishment of diplomatic relations with 07:52, January 15, 2008

Malawian Foreign Minister Joyce Banda confirmed here Monday that her country has established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

Earlier today, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced in Beijing that China and Malawi had established diplomatic relations on Dec. 28, 2007.

It means that Malawi has cut off its 41-year-old relationship with , a province of China.

"The government of the Republic of Malawi recognizes that there is but one China in the world ... and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," said Banda, whose country has become the 170th country to have diplomatic relations with China.

Malawi and China formalized their relations at the end of last year with the signing of a joint communique in Beijing.

In Africa, only four states, with a total population of less than 17 million, recognize Taiwan. They are Swaziland, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Sao Tome and Principe.

The loyalty switch was yet another massive blow to Taiwan authorities' attempts for U.N. membership. The Taiwan authorities' ambition to pass two referenda, a warm-up exercise to push for U.N. membership in the leadership election this March, was scuttled with a voter turnout rate of around 26 percent, poll results showed.

The establishment of diplomatic relations with China was applauded by both political and business communities of the African country.

"I have had the opportunity to experience what China is all about when I visited the country's major cities and signed a pact between Malawi News Agency and Xinhua when I was minister of information," said Sam Mpasu, Publicity Secretary of the former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).

Mpasu established links between Malawi News Agency and Xinhua when the UDF was in power.

"What Malawi has done is just to simply follow the global trend whereby most countries are switching to China," he said.

Harrison Kalua, President of the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Malawi's major business community, said it is good to embrace a much larger market, though it will take three to four years to establish solid business ties with their Chinese counterparts.

"As the business community we always look for a bigger market, and China offers Malawi business community that big market," Kalua said in an interview with Xinhua.

The news was welcomed by Chinese living in Malawi and its neighbor Zambia.

"We felt excited at the news that Malawi says 'goodbye' to Taiwan," Huawei Technologies Zambia managing director Liu Zhengbao said in an interview with Xinhua.

Huawei Technologies Zambia entered the Malawian market in 2001 and has achieved a trading volume of 45 million U.S. dollars.

Liu said the formalization of relations between Malawi and China will improve the investment environment, and Chinese companies are able to get more support from the two governments.

"It will be more convenient for Chinese companies, mine included, to expand business across this African country," said Liu, whose company is headquartered in the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

Most of the Chinese enterprises, as well as traders, had to choose Zambia as their foothold for business activities in Malawi before the establishment of diplomatic relations.

" Source: Xinhua"