| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 15, 2001 |
Li Peng Calls for Expanded Sino-Uruguayan Trade, Investment Cooperation |
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Li Peng on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the development of Sino-Uruguayan ties, calling for enhanced cooperation after China's accession to the WTO. Uruguayan President also expressed their willingness to promote mutual understanding with China.
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Li Peng meets acting Uruguayan President
Calling for Extended CooperationVisiting Chinese top legislator Li Peng on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the development of Sino-Uruguayan ties, calling for enhanced trade and investment cooperation after China's accession to the World Trade Organization.
At a meeting with Acting Uruguayan President Luis Hierro, Li said China attaches importance to its trade ties with Uruguay, adding that the annual two-way trade increased steadily in recent years to reach a record high of 340 million U.S. dollars last year. China has been the biggest buyer of Uruguay's wool product ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1988, and Uruguay has become China's key trade partner in Latin America, Li noted.
The two countries, Li continued, should diversify the makeup of the trade and increase investment flow in both directions steadily.
Taking Advantage of Entry into WTOTogether with Uruguay, China will take advantage of its entry into the World Trade Organization in pushing bilateral trade and economic cooperation up to a new level, he said. Pointing out that it took as long as 15 years for China to gain its WTO membership, Li said the problem is not only for political reasons, but also the non-acknowledgement by some countries of China's economy as a market one. Now, he went on, all WTO membersaccept China as a market economy. After entering WTO, China will be able to conduct its external trade in a broader scope and in a fairer and more open environmentof competition.
Li thanked Uruguay for support to China on Taiwan and human rights issues as well as China's membership application with the WTO. Hierro said that Li's visit indicated that Uruguay and China have established relations of equality, mutual benefits, understanding and mutual trust despite geological and political differences.
The acting president reiterated the country's persistent stance in supporting the principle of "one China".
He said Uruguay is willing to promote other Latin American countries' understanding of China, especially countries that still have no diplomatic relations with China. Hierro, also president of the National Assembly, said that the inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have yielded important achievements, and some lawmakers in the National Assembly still have little knowledge about China.Li extended his invitation of a Uruguay parliament delegation to visit China soon.
At a meeting earlier Wednesday with representatives of Uruguay-China Chamber of Commerce (UCCC), Li encouraged business people of the two countries to make efforts to further promote the development of bilateral trade and economic relations.
Li is on the last day of his three-day official visit to Uruguay, the fourth leg of his five-nation visit to North Africa and Latin America.
Bilateral Political Relations between China and Uruguay
After Uruguayan Red Party leader Julio Maria Sanguinetti took the presidency in March 1985, he attached great importance to China's status and role on the international stage and held active attitude to the development of relations with China. On February 3, 1988, China and Uruguay established diplomatic relations. Since then, the bilateral relations have maintained a momentum of stable and smooth advancement. The two sides have kept on exchanging high level visits and achieved a continuous expansion of trade and economic cooperation. China and Uruguay extend assistance to each other and enjoy close collaboration in international organizations and conferences.
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