LIMA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to make
concerted efforts with Latin American countries to establish a comprehensive
cooperative partnership of equality, mutual benefit and common development,
Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Thursday.
China, as the largest developing country in the world, is willing to work with Latin America, an important developing region, to boost mutual cooperation to a higher level, which conforms to the trends of the times and their respective development needs, President Hu said in his address to the Peruvian Congress.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Peruvian President Alan Garcia (L) in Lima, capital of Peru, Nov. 19, 2008. Both leaders on Wednesday announced to establish the "strategic partnership" between the two countries. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Hu put forward five proposals to boost Sino-Latin
American ties.
Firstly, China and Latin American countries should
maintain high-level exchanges and contacts, improve bilateral and multilateral
political consultation and dialogue systems at various levels, while
continuously enhancing mutual political trust.
Secondly, to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation
in economy and trade, China and Latin America should optimize trade structure
and increase mutual investment, especially in the fields of manufacturing,
infrastructure construction, energy, minerals, agriculture and high technology,
said Hu.
China is willing to continue providing assistance for
the economic and social development of Latin American and Caribbean countries
within its ability, Hu said.
Thirdly, China and Latin American countries should
enhance communication and coordination on their stances on such global issues as
climate change, food security, energy and finance, multilateral trade system and
the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Under the current complex international financial and
economic situation, China and Latin America should join hands and participate in
the framing of international economic, financial and trade rules, so as to help
the international economy develop in a fairer and more reasonable direction, the
Chinese president said.
Fourthly, Hu said China and Latin America should
learn from each other and make progress in the fields of social welfare and
development.
Both sides should carry out pragmatic cooperation in
poverty reduction, education, social security, medical and health care,
environmental protection and disaster relief, he said.
Finally, both sides should take effective measures to
deepen and boost cooperation in culture, sports, media and tourism, said Hu.
The Chinese leader arrived in Lima on Wednesday for a
state visit to Peru and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for Nov.
22-23.
During his speech, Hu said that to forge the
comprehensive cooperative partnership, both sides should first grasp the theme
of common development because development is a basic way to improve people's
well-being and promote social development.
He added that both China and Latin America are at a
crucial time of development and China is willing to expand pragmatic cooperation
with Latin American countries in various fields to boost common development.
The president said that to forge the comprehensive
cooperative partnership, both sides also need to pursue the basic principle of
equality and mutual benefit.
According to Hu, China will unswervingly follow the
path of peaceful development and uphold the opening up strategy of mutual
benefit and win-win progress. It maintains that all countries, big or small,
rich or poor, strong or weak, should be equal and regards safeguarding and
developing the common interests of China and Latin American countries as the
starting point and the purpose of bilateral cooperation.
China respects the rights of people in Latin American
countries to independently choose their paths of development, treats Latin
American countries equally and takes into account their concerns in cooperation
in a bid to realize mutual benefit and win-win results.
Hu stressed that innovation and all-round cooperation
are also required to build China-Latin America comprehensive cooperative
partnership.
He added that China is willing to work with Latin
American countries to innovate their cooperation mode, expand their cooperation
field, and enrich cooperation content in order to achieve more tangible results
and better benefit their peoples.
Hu said that he has agreed with his Peruvian
counterpart Alan Garcia to build a strategic partnership between the two
countries.
"We have agreed to build a China-Peru strategic
partnership and strive to deepen and enrich the mutually-beneficial cooperation
between the two countries in all fields," Hu said.
Peru, which is one of the fastest growing economies
amongst Latin American nations, is playing an increasingly important role in the
world and regional affairs, he said.
Recalling the long history of friendship between the
Chinese and Peruvian peoples, Hu said their mutual political trust is ever
expanding and cooperation and exchanges in various fields is developing rapidly
in an all-around way.
China and Peru have each other's support and have
worked closely in dealing with international affairs, Hu said. China has become
Peru's second largest trading partner and Peru is one of the major destinations
for Chinese investment in Latin America.
Hu had talks with Garcia on Wednesday afternoon on
efforts to expand mutually beneficial cooperation and further develop bilateral
relations.
"We've come to the agreement that China and Peru,
both developing nations, share wide common interests and the same target for
development. Strengthening their links is not only in keeping with the
fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples, but also conducive
to exchanges and cooperation between the Asian and Latin American regions," Hu
said.
"China has always attached strategic importance to
promoting cooperation with Latin America," Hu said.
"I made it clear that China hopes to become a
trustworthy and all-weather friend, a mutually beneficial cooperative partner of
Latin America and make the two a role model for active dialogues between
different civilizations when I visited the region in 2004," the president said.
Hu thanked Latin American countries for their aid
during the devastating earthquake in southwest China in May and their support
for China on Taiwan, Tibet and other issues.
Hailing the rapid expansion of trade between China
and the region, Hu noted that their trade reached the threshold of 100 billion
U.S. dollars last year, an over ten-fold increase compared to 10 years ago.
In addition, their cultural exchanges continue to
grow with an increasing number of events featuring each other's cultures and
more tourist arrivals and exchange students, Hu said.
Confucius Institutes have been set up in more and
more Latin American nations and many renowned media in the region have set up
their branches in Beijing, he said.
The mutual understanding and friendship between the
Chinese and Latin American peoples is ever deepening, while the foundations of
their ties have further consolidated and China and Latin America are facing more
opportunities for the future development of their relations, Hu
said.
