China, Uruguay vow to deepen ties

President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi on Tuesday in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People before their talks in Beijing. (FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY)

On Feb. 3, 1988, China and Uruguay — separated by vast oceans — established diplomatic relations, opening a chapter of engagement grounded in mutual respect and shared interests.

And on the same day 38 years later, President Xi Jinping and Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi revisited that journey and looked ahead, pledging to carry forward their traditions and further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two leaders, who met in Beijing on Tuesday, also witnessed the signing of 19 cooperation documents in areas including investment promotion and trade, and the release of a joint statement.

Orsi is on a weeklong state visit to China, becoming the first Latin American head of state to visit the country in the new year amid a series of high-level foreign visits.

The visit, which began on Sunday and includes a stop in Shanghai, also marks Orsi's first trip to the world's second-largest economy since he took office in March 2025, following three visits prior to assuming the presidency.

Calling Orsi a good friend of the Chinese people, Xi said that the two countries have emerged as a model of peaceful coexistence between nations with different social systems, win-win cooperation between economies of different sizes, and mutual learning among different civilizations.

Xi emphasized that China and Uruguay should continue to firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, foster closer friendly interactions at all levels and in all areas, strengthen exchanges on governance experience and further deepen strategic mutual trust.

Xi said the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), outlining a blueprint for China's development over the next five years, which will offer broad opportunities for countries worldwide, including Uruguay.

He called on both sides to better align development strategies and deepen cooperation in areas such as the economy and trade, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction, and information and communications technology. Xi encouraged exploring cooperation potential in emerging fields such as green development, the digital economy, artificial intelligence and clean energy to support economic transformation and upgrading.

Xi also stressed the importance of expanding exchanges in culture, education, sports, media, and at the subnational level, facilitating cross-border travel, and strengthening people-to-people bonds.

Voicing China's support for Uruguay in assuming the rotating chair of the Group of 77 and China for the year 2026, Xi said that Beijing stands ready to work with Montevideo to strengthen solidarity and cooperation across the Global South.

He said that China supported Uruguay in assuming the rotating chair of both the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Southern Common Market, and expressed China's willingness to work with regional countries to further deepen and substantiate the joint initiative of building a China-LAC community with a shared future.

Orsi reiterated Uruguay's firm support for the one-China principle, saying that developing relations with China is now Uruguay's state policy and has gained unanimous support from all political parties and across society.

Uruguay stands ready to work with China to respect the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, uphold multilateralism and safeguard the international trading system, Orsi said.

On Tuesday, Orsi also met separately in Beijing with Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

Experts noted that the visit comes at a strategically important moment and represents the largest official Uruguayan mission in recent memory, bringing together senior government officials and more than 100 business representatives. This, they said, underscores Uruguay's high regard for its relationship with China and suggests that the visit's implications extend beyond bilateral ties.

Zhou Zhiwei, a Latin American studies expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Uruguay, as a stable and open economy, has long pursued a highly pragmatic diplomatic approach. Given the scale and potential of the Chinese market, Zhou said that China represents an important partner capable of offering sustained development opportunities for Uruguay.

China remained Uruguay's largest trading partner in 2025. Official Uruguayan data showed that exports to China reached $3.493 billion last year, an increase of nearly 12 percent year-on-year, while imports from China totaled $2.813 billion between January and November.

Before the official meetings, Orsi toured the Museum of the Communist Party of China on Sunday, followed by visits on Monday to two emblematic sites — the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall and the Palace Museum.

"It's an honor to be part of this unique experience. Walking around this magnificent place makes us recognize how much we can do and the humility we need to achieve true harmony," the delegation wrote in the Palace Museum's visitor book.

Xu Tianqi, a deputy researcher at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said the delegation's "in-depth tour" of Beijing suggests that Uruguay hopes to gain a broader understanding of China's history and the evolution of the CPC's governance philosophy. This, he said, will help build long-term trust and lay a solid foundation for deeper cooperation in areas such as education, science and technology.

Xu added that the visit is significant for supporting Latin America's independent development and for strengthening pragmatic cooperation among Global South countries, noting that the region faces increasing external pressures that make independent and diversified diplomacy more important than ever.

Zhou, from the CASS, noted that the hegemonic behavior of the United States has undermined the stability of the international system.

He said that China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, together with its four major global initiatives, aligns with both the fundamental values and practical needs of the international community.