Chile's new President Sebastian Pinera waves during his inauguration ceremony at the headquarters of the National Congress, in Valparaiso, Chile, on March 11, 2018. (Xinhua/Jorge Villegas)
Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Ma Peihua attended the inauguration ceremony of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Sunday.
Ma, vice chairman of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, met with Pinera before the ceremony on Saturday in Santiago.
Ma conveyed President Xi's congratulation and good wishes to Pinera, saying China and Chile have established a comprehensive strategic partnership and China-Chile relations have been spearheading China's ties with Latin American countries.
He said China has always regarded Chile as a significant cooperative partner in the Latin America and Asia-Pacific region and China will, as always, develop ties with Chile from a strategic and long-term perspective.
Ma said China is willing to work with Chile to strengthen exchanges in all aspects, jointly build the "Belt and Road," deepen pragmatic cooperation in trade, investment, mining and agriculture, strengthen closer multilateral coordination and open up new prospects for their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.
For his part, Pinera thanked President Xi for sending an envoy to attend his inauguration and asked Ma to convey his greetings to President Xi.
Congratulating on the ongoing sessions of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies, the Chilean president wished the Chinese people greater development achievements under President Xi's leadership.
Developing relations with China is a priority for Chilean diplomacy and Chile is willing to work with China to deepen mutual beneficial cooperation, advance specific projects within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and further enhance cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region to benefit the two peoples, said Pinera.
Ma also met with former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Saturday in Santiago.
Ma conveyed President Xi's greetings to Bachelet and spoke positively of her contributions to bilateral relations.
Bachelet asked Ma to convey her greetings to President Xi.
She said that developing ties and deepening cooperation with China has become a national policy of Chile, and Chile is confident about the prospects of Chile-China cooperation.
