"China and Malawi should uphold independence, reform and opening-up, exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions," Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.

President Xi made the remarks during his meeting with his Malawian counterpart Peter Mutharika in Beijing on Saturday, ahead of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malawi 11 years ago, bilateral cooperation in various fields has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples.

"The one-China principle conforms to the trend of the times, and China is willing to accelerate mutually beneficial cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges with Malawi," Xi noted.

Xi also vowed to maintain close coordination in multilateral affairs and jointly safeguard Africa's unity and overall interests.

President Mutharika responded that Malawi firmly adheres to the one-China principle and will constantly deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields.

"China's development is bringing hope to Africa and African countries have learned important lessons from China," Mutharika said.

African countries and China have had similar experiences and fates, "China's success is particularly important to Africa," he added.

The president also stressed that African countries highly appreciate China's policies towards Africa and are willing to strengthen exchanges of ideas and learn from each other.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents after their talks on Saturday.