China, Chile to further strengthen bilateral ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Chilean counterpart Alberto van Klaveren Stork on Wednesday that the two countries should further strengthen their alignment of development strategies and make Chile an example of high-level Belt and Road cooperation between China and Latin American countries.

The Chilean foreign minister arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit to deepen relations and expand trade with the world's second-largest economy.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that although China and Chile are geographically far apart, the two countries share friendly sentiments and bilateral relations have maintained steady development.

China is willing to closely communicate with Chile at all levels, continuously promote bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and expand collaboration in information communication, clean energy and other emerging sectors, thus contributing to each other's modernization, Wang said.

Chile was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with China. And it became the first Latin American country to sign a free-trade agreement with China in 2005. The treaty was upgraded in 2017.

Now, China is Chile's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $62.5 billion last year. As the South American country's biggest export destination, China mainly imports copper, lithium, fruits and wine from Chile.

On Tuesday, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the transshipment of fresh fruits from Chile through third countries, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

During the talks, Wang noted that both China and Chile maintain stability and continuity in their domestic and foreign policies, respect each other's core interests, and always view each other's development and transformations rationally and positively.

These successful experiences and good practices play a crucial role in the sound and stable development of bilateral ties and should be carried forward, he said.

China and Chile have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges in recent years. Chilean President Gabriel Boric made his first state visit to China in October last year. Over the past three years, President Xi Jinping and Boric have met three times with the latest one in Lima, Peru, last month.

Wang said the two leaders have guided the two countries to achieve fruitful results in cooperation across various areas and ushered bilateral ties into the best period.

Wang recalled that Boric brought a Spanish version of the fourth volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of Chinato his meeting with Xi in Lima and asked the Chinese president to sign it.

This anecdote demonstrates Chile's willingness to strengthen the exchange of governance with China and is also a reflection of China-Chile friendship, Wang said.

The Chilean foreign minister said that deepening cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative is a bipartisan consensus in Chile, as shown by the Chilean president's attendance at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation three times in a row.

Chile admires China's remarkable development achievements and is willing to work with China to deepen cooperation in various sectors, improve connectivity and push for greater progress in bilateral ties, he added.