BEIJING: China and Uruguay upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on Wednesday as they pledged to enhance bilateral cooperation in a wider range of fields, particularly on the joint construction of the Belt and Road.
President Xi Jinping and visiting Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou jointly announced the elevation of the countries’ relationship during their talks in Beijing. The Uruguayan president is on a state visit to China from Monday to Friday. Xi held a grand welcoming ceremony for Lacalle Pou at the Great Hall of the People before their official talks.
The two heads of state witnessed the signing of a Belt and Road cooperation plan and several bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of trade and investment, the digital economy, green development, agriculture, health, education, culture, sci-tech innovation, and customs inspection and quarantine.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Uruguay and the fifth anniversary of Uruguay’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. During the meeting, both presidents hailed the development of bilateral ties in the past decades.
Xi said that China is willing to work with Uruguay to take the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership as a new starting point to enhance bilateral relations and enrich cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries can become an example of unity and cooperation between countries of different sizes, systems and cultures, better serving the development of their respective nations and promoting the well-being of the two peoples, he added.Xi briefed the Uruguayan president about the Chinese path to modernization, saying that the nation is willing to strengthen exchanges on governance with Uruguay and share development opportunities with it.
He emphasized the need for both countries to take the signing of the Belt and Road cooperation plan as an opportunity to strengthen the alignment of their development strategies, foster new drivers of cooperation in service trade, the digital economy, clean energy and other fields, and promote the high-quality development of China-Uruguay Belt and Road cooperation.
China welcomes more high-quality agricultural and livestock products and high value-added products from Uruguay to enter the Chinese market, and it encourages Chinese companies to invest and develop in Uruguay, he said, adding that China hopes Uruguay will continue to provide a favorable business environment for Chinese companies.
While calling for promoting cultural, people-to-people and sports exchanges between the two countries, Xi said that China is willing to provide more scholarships to Uruguay. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
