GABORONE — Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jan 7 on bilateral ties.

Wang said that since taking office, President Masisi has cherished the friendly tradition between the two countries, firmly adhered to the one-China principle, timely restored mutual trust between the two countries and pushed bilateral relations on the track of sound development. China appreciates these efforts.

In foreign relations, China adheres to the principle that all countries, big or small, are equal, Wang said. China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs, and stands ready to be a long-term and reliable cooperative partner of Botswana.

"We are willing to join in Botswana to further implement the important consensus between the two heads of state, achievements of Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19," said Wang.

China is also willing to join in Botswana to strengthen the party-to-party and people-to-people exchanges, deepen post-COVID-19 bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Both sides shall take the opportunity of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote transformation and upgrading of bilateral cooperation, and help to accelerate Botswana's process of industrialization and digitalization in order to benefit the welfare of more people.

Wang said that Africa has achieved political independence through a hard struggle, but it still needs to make continued efforts to truly achieve economic independence.

China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries including Botswana within the framework of the FOCAC, ensure the success of the new session of FOCAC, upgrade China-Africa cooperation, help African countries turn their resource advantages into development advantages and accelerate their capacity for independent development, Wang said.

The two sides should also strengthen coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs, firmly support multilateralism, oppose unilateral power bullying, promote democracy in international relations and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Wang said.

President Masisi said that Botswana attaches great importance to the Botswana-China relations. Botswana takes the one-China principle as the foundation of the development of bilateral relations and remains firm in this regard.

Masisi thanked the Chinese side for its tremendous assistance to the Botswana government and people in achieving development and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Botswana admires China's development achievements and is full of expectations for the future of Botswana-China relations.

Botswana is willing to be a reliable partner of mutual benefit with China, Masisi said. China is welcome to increase investment in Botswana, strengthen cooperation in industrial parks, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation and other fields, and help Botswana contribute "patents of Botswana" to the world.

Botswana is ready to strengthen party-to-party exchanges with China, expand cooperation under the framework of the FOCAC and work with China to overcome the "middle-income trap" and achieve high-quality development, Masisi said.

On the same day, Wang also held talks with Botswana's Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Lemogang Kwape. The two foreign ministers signed the MoU on jointly advancing the BRI between the two governments and other cooperation documents.