LILONGWE, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China said on Friday it was committed to supporting Malawi in order to help the southern African nation move forward in its development path.

Reviewing 10 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Wang Shiting, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, said China has done a lot in supporting Malawi's development efforts within a short period which has gone a long way in transforming the country.

"If you go to Malawi, whether in big cities or rural areas, you will find many projects which have been supported by China," he said in an interview with Xinhua.

"I can say that Malawi has been transformed because of its relationship with China in just 10 years," he added.

China, he said, has supported Malawi in various sectors of the economy such as infrastructure, education, agriculture, health, among others, adding that China has now become one of Malawi's biggest cooperating partners in the last 10 years.

In the education sector, China was the biggest contributor in providing scholarships to Malawi, with 100 government scholarships provided every year and 600 short-term training opportunities, he added.

According to him, investments by Chinese private enterprises have reached about 300 million U.S. dollars while trade volumes have averaged 250 million dollars annually.

The Chinese envoy expressed optimism that the cooperation between the two countries was promising.