Malta - China relations

Malta was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. The Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff bluffed his way to a substantial financial agreement with the United Kingdom's Lord Carrington in 1972. The day after he flew back to Malta from London, he shocked Britain by flying to communist China to establish relations and sign a controversial agreement there! The website of the Chinese foreign ministry gives an overview of the history of Malta-China relations:

Ever since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, the economic and technological cooperation between China and Malta on the whole has been: China provided Malta in 1972 a long-term interest free loan of 100 million yuan, facilitating the construction of 7 whole plants and 2 technological cooperation projects, of which the 300000-ton Dry Dock was the largest. In 1985, Chinahelped Malta build Marsaxokk Breakwater (funded by Malta), a project which has made great contribution over the years to the maintenance of Malta's free port. In April 1994, the two sides established the Mediterranean Regional Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine. The project provides short and mid-term training courses and runs a traditional Chinese clinic. Premier Li Peng proposed to build a "China Garden" for Malta for free during the Maltese Prime Minister's visit to China in June 1994. China presented 500 willow seedlings to Malta as a gift. ChinaGarden was completed in July 1997. China gave Malta 3 million yuan assistance gratis respectively in the year of 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

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