'Good friends, good partners': Wang Yi hails China-Argentina ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday said China and Argentina are good friends and good partners during talks with his Argentine counterpart, Diana Mondino, in Beijing.

China and Argentina are both major emerging economies, and China is ready to be a long-term and reliable cooperative partner of Argentina, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Mondino is on a five-day visit to China. This is the Argentine foreign minister's first visit to China since she took office in December 2023.

During the talks, Wang said China is willing to take the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership this year to jointly inject more certainty into the two sides' cooperation in various fields and open up new prospects for the comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two sides should continue to cherish and consolidate political mutual trust, understand and support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, advance cooperation in space, space flight, maritime and Antarctic fields, and promote sustained, healthy and balanced development of bilateral trade, he said.

China always supports Argentina's efforts to maintain economic and financial stability and is willing to continue to provide assistance within its capacity, Wang said, adding that the two sides also need to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges at the local level, among the youth, in education and health.

China is willing to work with Argentina and other Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote the building of China-Latin America relations in the new era featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation and openness, strengthen coordination and cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and G20, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Wang said.

Mondino noted that no matter how Argentina's internal political situation changes, its friendly policy toward China will not change. Argentina adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to continue to promote cooperation in infrastructure construction, trade, investment, finance, tourism, space, Antarctica, ocean and environmental protection under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, she said.

She added that the new Argentine government pursues an open policy and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Argentina. 

Argentina is willing to deepen cooperation with China under the framework of the CELAC-China Forum, keep close communication and coordination within multilateral mechanisms, safeguard world peace and promote sustainable development, Mondino said.

(With input from Xinhua)