By Chimwemwe Mangazi, in Beijing China:
Malawi can attract more Chinese investment by using its youthful workforce, Chinese scholar, Professor He Wenping, has said.
Wenping, who is from the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Malawi’s professional workers put the country ahead of some regional neighbours when investors choose where to set up factories.
She was speaking at Renmin University of China, where she delivered a lecture on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is helping Africa grow through roads, railways and factories.
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The BRI was launched in 2013 to link Asia, Europe and Africa through trade and infrastructure.
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Wenping added that Africa needed such links to move goods and reach world markets.
“For landlocked countries like Malawi, they badly need this connectivity. Africa faces a funding gap of at least $170 billion a year for infrastructure, and China is filling part of it through loans, investment and technical skills.
“Africa must move from selling raw materials to making finished goods. For example, Zambia’s Copperbelt, where copper is being turned into other products, [is helping promote this].All those resources are underground,” Wenping said.
She added that Malawi’s biggest strength was its workforce, which he described as hardworking and professional.
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The call comes as Malawi battles foreign exchange shortages, a weak export base and rising imports, many of them from China.
Local economists say better ties between China and the United States, following President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington at the invitation of President Donald Trump, could ease global trade and investment.
Economist Marvin Banda said Malawi should not remain a passive buyer in global trade.
“Malawi must use its energy potential from the Shire River, solar power in the south and wind power in the north to support industrialisation,” Banda said.
