Jianchao is making an official visit to this South American country, where he has already met with Foreign Minister Omar Paganini and will meet with the main presidential candidates for next October’s elections.

Lacalle and Jianchao highlighted the rank of Comprehensive Strategic Alliance that both states assumed during the visit of the Uruguayan president to Beijing, in November 2023.

During the meeting, both parties endorsed the defense of multilateralism and mutual respect despite ideological, cultural, and territorial differences.

Chinese party leader thanked Uruguay for convening the Mercosur-China Mechanism of Talks, which will be held next week in this capital, after six years of inactivity.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Hua Chunying will attend the forum.

Beijing has been Uruguay’s leading trading partner for the last decade, with more than 20 percent of its exports to the Chinese market.

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