Opportunities anticipated for further Belt and Road benefits

Broad prospects seen for Sino-Argentine cooperation

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that cooperation between China and Argentina has broad prospects, and China welcomes Argentina to seize the opportunities created by the country's high-level opening-up and further expand its share in the Chinese market.

He made the remarks while meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since Milei won the presidential election in November last year.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said the relationship between the two countries stands at an important historical juncture, adding that China cherishes the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

He emphasized the need for China and Argentina to promote the long-term and stable development of bilateral ties.

Xi noted that China and Argentina are highly complementary in economic and trade structure. China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner and, last year, the trade volume between the two countries exceeded $17 billion.

Xi said that China is ready to work with Argentina to continuously promote Belt and Road cooperation and deepen ties in areas including energy, mining, infrastructure, agriculture, sci-tech innovation and the digital economy.

He also expressed Beijing's willingness to continue financial cooperation with Buenos Aires to help the Argentine side maintain economic and financial stability.

Milei said that Argentina and China enjoy profound traditional friendship, adding that Argentina firmly supports China's position on the Taiwan question and adheres to the one-China principle.

He said his country is willing to further cooperate with China and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and cooperate in Argentina.