Special Report: Wu Bangguo visits Brazil, Uruguay and
Chile
BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Visit by China's top
legislator Wu Bangguo to the three Latin American nations of Brazil, Uruguay and
Chile has been highly fruitful and will have significant bearings on China's
relations with the whole region, said a senior Chinese official on Saturday.
Wu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress (NPC), wrapped up a 13-day official good-will visit
to the three Latin American countries and came back home Sunday morning.
The top legislator held talks with leaders of Brazil,
Uruguay and Chile as well as Latin-American Parliament chief during his visit.
Wu delivered important speeches at the Brazilian
Parliament, at an annual session of Brazil-China Chamber of Trade and Industry
(CCIBC) and China-Chile economic and trade forum.
The top legislator signed a memorandum of
understanding on the establishment of regular exchanges mechanism between the
NPC and Brazil's Chamber of Deputies and formally launched the political
dialogue committee between the NPC and the Chilean Parliament.
He attended the ceremonies for the signing of trade
cooperation agreements between China and Brazil, Uruguay and Chile, and visited
Chinese enterprises in a free trade area in Brazil.
The Latin American tour by Wu is an important
diplomatic activity by Chinese leaders this year, which has made concrete
achievement and will have deep and important bearings on China's relations with
the Latin American region, said deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing
Committee, Cao Weizhou, who accompanied Wu on the Latin American tour.
STRENGTHENING OF MUTUAL POLITICAL
TRUST
Wu introduced China's foreign and domestic policies,
highlighted China's implementation of its scientific development policy, its
dedication to building a socialist harmonious society as well as an
international community dominated by harmony, and its unswerving stances in
focusing on economic construction and adherence to the reform and opening-up
policies and its pledges for peaceful development.
The visit contributed to increasing the understanding
of the three Latin American nations on China's domestic and foreign policies and
harvesting more support for the stances and principles of the Chinese government
on the questions of Taiwan and Tibet, Cao noted.
The leaders of the Brazil, Uruguay and Chile
reiterated their adherence to the one-China policy, which they said would never
change.
Wu and the leaders expressed identical or similar
views on some major international and regional issues, and they believed that
the development model of a country should only be determined by its people
according to the country's realities.
Wu and the leaders also agreed to further enhance
dialogue and cooperation in efforts to safeguard the rights and interests of
developing nations.
SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS IN TRADE
COOPERATION
During Wu's visit, China and Brazil signed a series
of cooperation agreements on trading in jet planes, jointly building
hydro-electricity plants and other important projects.
China and Chile signed a referendum of understanding
on cooperation in the production and trade of copper. Wu and Chilean President
Michelle Bachelet also announced that the free trade agreement between the two
countries would be brought into effect from October 1, and that free trade
investment and service trade talks would also be officially launched then.
The signing of agreements between China and Chile
during Wu's visit signifies that bilateral economic and economic cooperation
between China and the Chile has been promoted to a higher level, which will
serve as an example for promoting China's economic and trade cooperation as well
as relations with the whole Latin American region, Cao said.
IMPORTANT STEPS FOR INTER-PARLIAMENTARY
EXCHANGES
At meetings during the visit, Wu and parliamentary
leaders from Brazil, Chile and Uraguay all regarded inter-parliamentary
exchanges an important part of international relations, with strengthening
political mutual trust and promoting real cooperation as the key points of
exchanges.
Wu hoped China's NPC and the parliaments of the three
South American countries could exchange more views on how to better govern a
country, and strengthen cooperation in international and regional parliamentary
organizations.
During the visit, a referendum of understanding was
signed between China's NPC and Brazil's House of Representatives on routine
exchange of information. Wu and Chile's parliamentary leaders jointly announced
the official start of a political dialogue committee between China's NPC and the
Chilean Parliament.
These developments signify that inter-parliamentary
relations between China's NPC and the Brazilian and Chilean parliaments have
entered a new phase of substantive exchanges, Cao concluded. Enditem