Xi says China willing to import more agricultural products from Uruguay

BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China is willing to import more high-quality agricultural products and high value-added products from Uruguay that meet market demands and actively foster new growth areas of bilateral cooperation such as e-commerce and trade in services.

In a telephone conversation with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, Xi added that China welcomes Uruguay to the upcoming third China International Import Expo.

Uruguay is one of the first Latin American countries that voiced support for and offered assistance to China's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, Xi said.

Noting that China has always been deeply attached to the epidemic fight of the Uruguayan people, Xi said the Chinese government, relevant provinces and all sectors of the Chinese society have delivered anti-epidemic supplies to and shared epidemic control experience with Uruguay.

As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, solidarity and cooperation should be pursued in the spirit of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.

He said that the Chinese side will continue to work together with Uruguay to promote anti-epidemic cooperation, firmly support the World Health Organization in playing a leading role, join hands to win the anti-epidemic battle as soon as possible, and jointly push forward the building of a global community of health for all.

Uruguay is a good and trust-worthy friend of China in Latin America, Xi said, adding that the two countries have always understood and supported each other.

Since the establishment of the China-Uruguay strategic partnership in 2016, political mutual trust between the two sides has been continuously deepened and bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, Xi said.

China will open itself even wider to the world in an all-round way, and foster a new development pattern in which domestic and foreign markets boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, Xi said, adding that it will provide wider markets and development opportunities for countries around the world, including Uruguay.

The two countries should advance high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in such areas as culture, education and sports, and consolidate public support for the China-Uruguay friendship, Xi said.

Both sides should also take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations to firmly support the democratization of international relations and economic globalization, he said.

Xi also said he hopes that the Uruguayan side would play an active role in promoting the free trade cooperation between China and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), the development of China-Latin America relations, as well as the overall cooperation between China and Latin America.

For his part, Lacalle Pou said he agrees with Xi's remarks on the current international situation, and admires the great achievements China has made in its anti-epidemic battle, adding that under the current circumstances, only by remaining open to the outside world and strengthening solidarity and cooperation can the common interests of all countries be better safeguarded.

Noting that Uruguay and China are good partners, Lacalle Pou said long distance has never hindered the development of friendly relations between the two countries.

He said the Uruguayan side hopes that the economic complementarity between the two countries can be fully exploited, bilateral relations be further deepened, and cooperation in such areas as agricultural products, infrastructure and innovation be advanced.

Uruguay is willing to work with China to safeguard free trade and push for stronger cooperation between Mercosur and China, he added.