China, Argentina pledge to deepen ties

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reached broad consensus with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in Buenos Aires on Monday on deepening ties between the two countries.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) shakes hands with Argentine President Christina Fernandez in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, June 25, 2012. [Li Xueren/Xinhua]

In their meeting, Wen said that over the past 40 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties, bilateral relations have withstood many tests and witnessed continuous progress that has benefited the two countries and two peoples and made positive contribution to the world.

In the face of an increasingly complex international situation fraught with serious challenges, it is in the fundamental interest of both countries to further promote the overall development of China-Argentina strategic partnership, Wen said.

China is ready to enhance political mutual trust with Argentina, support Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands, expand cooperation areas and improve the quality of cooperation to promote common development, Wen said.

He added that China will work with Argentina to safeguard peace, justice and the interests of developing countries and promote more democratic international relations.

The Chinese premier noted that China's 12th Five-Year Plan and the "Argentina 2020" development plan, when jointly implemented, would generate huge potential for cooperation.

Both sides have agreed to launch a mutual action plan between the two governments to map out a blueprint for future development of bilateral ties, he said.

China and Argentina will set up a dialogue mechanism to explore the integration of the two countries' industries and guide the expansion of cooperation between the two countries' enterprises, Wen said.

Under the current adverse world economic situation, China and Argentina must keep their markets open, understand each other and strengthen cooperation between relevant government agencies to properly resolve each other's concerns and promote the continuous and balanced growth of bilateral trade, Wen said.

The two countries have also agreed to comprehensively deepen cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, financial services, energy, polar regions, oceans and environment, according to Wen.

They also pledged further cooperation in aviation and tourism, and closer people-to-people exchanges to create a stable, friendly and convenient environment for the development of bilateral ties, Wen said.

The Chinese premier noted that against the background of the international financial crisis, Latin America has maintained social stability and continued economic growth.

The establishment of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is an important outcome of Latin America's integration process, and this would help China and Latin American countries to conduct broader and deeper cooperation to strengthen the overall capacity of developing countries, he said.

China, Wen added, is ready to keep close coordination with Argentina to further develop China's relations with the CELAC.

For her part, Fernandez said that bilateral ties have witnessed rapid development over the past 40 years and have generated fruitful outcomes in all fields and promoted the common development of both countries.

Wen's visit will elevate bilateral relations to a new level, she said.

In the face of the serious challenges posed by the international financial crisis, Argentina is willing to learn from China's development experience and strengthen strategic communication with China to carefully plan cooperation between the two countries in various fields, Fernandez said.

Argentina is ready to expand mutually-beneficial cooperation with China in economy, trade, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, hydropower, transportation and mining, Fernandez said.

Argentina welcomes Chinese enterprises to expand investment in the South American country and participate actively in its large-sale construction projects, Fernandez said.

The Argentine president also said the country will play an active role in promoting cooperation between China and the CELAC as it is in the common interest of both sides.

The leaders of the two countries also witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents.