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Malawian president arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

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Malawian president arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

2024-09-02 19:00 Last Updated At:19:37

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera arrived in Beijing on Monday to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held in the Chinese capital from September 4 to 6.

The president's plane landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport at around 15:20.

Chakwera attended the opening ceremony of the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in China in June last year. Malawi, located in southeastern Africa, is an agricultural country, with 86 percent of its population engaged in agriculture.

The country and China enjoy a strategic partnership, and Chakwera firmly supports the one-China principle and supports China’s Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative.

Malawi established diplomatic relations with China in 2007. The parliamentary building of Malawi, built with China's assistance and completed in only 15 months, is one of the five major projects for the establishment of the diplomatic ties between the two countries. Now the pattern of the parliament building has been printed on the banknote of 200 Malawian kwachas.

The upcoming FOCAC summit will be held under the theme of "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future."

Many African leaders, including Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, will lead delegations to the summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend as a special guest, and relevant international and regional organizations will participate as observers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the summit’s opening ceremony on September 5.

Following the 2006 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the upcoming summit will be another happy reunion for the friendly family of China and Africa. It will also be the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years.

Malawian president arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

Malawian president arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

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US Fed's 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations: expert

2024-11-09 07:21 Last Updated At:08:17

The U.S. Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut on Thursday aligns with market expectations, said Li Fuyi, associate researcher at Institute for Foreign Economic Studies under the Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

The Fed on Thursday slashed interest rates by 25 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the second rate cut in this easing cycle.

Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"From a policy perspective, the 50 basis point cut in September was a more precautionary move, aimed at preventing the policy from lagging too far behind developments. Moving forward, the rate cuts should slow and follow a more gradual pace, allowing enough room for policy adjustments. The Fed would lower rates by another 50 basis points by the end of the year, so the November 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations. In terms of economic data, Fed policy mainly responds to changes in employment and inflation," Li explained the interest rate cut.

"Currently, U.S. inflation is gradually approaching the Fed's 2 percent objective. For instance, the initial core PCE figure for the third quarter was 2.2 percent. At the same time, the labor market is roughly in line with the Fed's full employment target range. In this situation, there is no urgent need for a major rate cut. A moderate rate cut also avoids overly pessimistic market interpretations of the current economic situation. This approach is an optimal solution for the Fed's delicate balance between curbing inflation and avoiding economic cooling," she said.

US Fed's 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations: expert

US Fed's 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations: expert

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