China, Argentina eye on diversified cooperation
Updated 14:46, 05-Dec-2018
CGTN
["china"]
Argentina has been under the spotlight this week as it hosts the G20 leaders' summit in Buenos Aires. 
Chinese President Xi Jinping was invited to attend the summit and pay a state visit to the Latin American country.
China and Argentina are highly complementary to each other's development advantages and demands. 
China continues to be Argentina's second largest export market, the largest destination of agricultural exports and the second largest source of imports for years.
Now with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the two countries are on the way to diversifying their business ties. 
During the visit to China last May, Argentine President Mauricio Macri said that the Union of South American Nations had reached a consensus on the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America and on coordinating with the BRI to promote multinational connection and cooperation, including infrastructure. 
For instance, since 2016, as a leading investor, China has participated in the construction of the Belgrano line, one of three strategic state-run rail lines in Argentina, connecting the country's northern agricultural heartland with leading distribution or export hubs.
The project is set to renovate 1,700 km of the Belgrano Cargas cargo railway, and China has contributed at least 70 percent of the project's total cost, which is more than 2 billion U.S. dollars, including new rolling stock, specifically locomotives, or railway engines.
Once the line is fully revamped, Argentina can lower shipping costs and guarantee its regional economies a greater competitive edge in world markets.