Argentina is the strongest emerging market in South America and has joined China's Belt and Road Initiatives. The project originally called for overseas infrastructure development in countries on the ancient Silk Roads connecting China and Europe. And it gradually expanded its reach. CGTN spoke with Argentinian Ambassador to China, Diego Guelar, who explained what his country hopes to get out of partnering with Beijing.

DIEGO GUELAR ARGENTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO CHINA "The Belt & Road Initiative has gone through several stages. As you will surely know, in its origin, it was a much more modest project. It was about giving a better exit to the west for China. Considering many parts of China are such a long distance to the sea, they were looking for a way in which these places could participate directly in world trade without having to send their goods to the east, only for them to then go back to the west. Later on came all this connectivity with Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, all this became a general expansion. In 2016, there was a big plenary session for this initiative. Our president Macri was invited, and he attended during an official visit. We have been participating very actively in this Chinese initiative; it's something we consider very valuable. We see ourselves as natural partners because Argentina is an integral strategic partner of China, so, naturally, we see ourselves as an integral strategic partner of this initiative. This is a great contribution of China to connectivity; to the possibility of developing infrastructures which can enable a better use of world resources, and therefore, we definitely agree with it, and we are enthusiastic and willing to continue with this interaction with China and its initiative."