A forum promoting cultural exchanges between China and Argentina was held in Beijing on Wednesday with senior officials from both countries pledging to advance the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The China-Argentina High-Level Forum on Cultural Exchanges comes as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez sent congratulatory letters to the forum.

For half a century, China-Argentina relations have endured tests posed by the changing international environment, exemplifying the unity and mutual development between developing countries and emerging economies, Xi said in his letter.

Noting the comprehensive and rapid development of bilateral ties reflects the vitality of China-Latin America relations, Xi voiced the hope that participants of the forum will pool their wisdom and build a consensus to help write a new chapter in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for China and Latin America and mankind in the new era.

Fernandez said the much accomplished media cooperation between the two countries has raised mutual understanding between the two peoples, and he looks forward to the deepening of bilateral cooperation so as to further strengthen the China-Argentina strategic comprehensive partnership. 

Over 100 representatives from China and Argentina attended the forum, which was jointly hosted by China Media Group and Argentina's Public Media of the Nation. It was one of a series of events in 2022 marking the friendship between the two countries.

The many understandings reached between the two countries, such as a cooperation agreement between Argentina's Buenos Aires Province and China's Sichuan Province, will further upgrade bilateral trade and financial collaboration, Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said at the forum.

Buenos Aires and Sichuan are important economic provinces, Cafiero said, adding that their collaboration marks a great achievement in the China-Argentina strategic comprehensive partnership. 

China and Argentina established diplomatic ties in March 1972. Under the principles of the non-aligned movement, the two countries made significant progress in their pursuit of a cooperative agenda.

In 2004, the two countries signed a series of agreements, drastically boosting economic cooperation. Bilateral trade has grown rapidly during the past two decades, with China becoming Argentina's biggest trading partner in April 2020.

In November 2018, President Xi paid a state visit to Argentina where he also attended the Group of 20 Summit. Over 30 agriculture and investment deals were announced during that visit.

In a letter addressed to Xi in January 2022, Fernandez said countries should be united, respect and support each other against the pandemic disruptions, and commit to building a community with a shared future for mankind, a concept proposed by the Chinese president.

Fernandez later attended the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where Chinese and Argentine officials also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making the Latin American country an official BRI partner.

In addition to the MoU, the two countries also signed cooperation documents in over 10 areas, including green development, the digital economy, aerospace, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, technological innovation and agriculture. 

(Cover: The national flags of China and Argentina. /CFP)