BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese leaders expressed a desire to advance the strategic partnership between China and Argentina in meetings with visiting Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Beijing Wednesday.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin held separate meetings with Kirchner Wednesday afternoon.
China was ready to work with Argentina to deepen practical cooperation so as to advance bilateral links to a higher level, Jia Qinglin said in a meeting with Kirchner at the Great Hall of the People.
Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the Argentine President's visit would deepen practical cooperation between the two countries.
It is Kirchner's first state visit to China. She held talks with President Hu Jintao Tuesday afternoon and jointly witnessed the signing of 12 deals covering areas like transportation infrastructure, fisheries, energy, plant quarantine, and rail transport.
Earlier Tuesday, she also oversaw the signing of six contracts on railway technology, and electrification of rail lines.
Jia said the talks between the Chinese and Argentine Presidents were fruitful. The two sides shared in-depth views and reached broad consensus on bilateral links and regional and international issues of common concern.
He said the two countries would earnestly implement the important consensus reached by their presidents.
Kirchner said during her visit, she had very effective exchanges with Hu and other Chinese leaders, as well as sealing a number of important deals. The visit had enhanced Argentina's confidence in advancing the bilateral strategic partnership.
Jia said that since the inauguration of the strategic partnership in 2004, bilateral links had entered a stage of all-round and rapid growth.
Jia said the two countries had maintained high-level contacts, enhanced mutual trust, expanded trade and economic cooperation, increased mutual investment, stepped up people-to-people exchanges and cooperated closely on regional and international affairs. The two sides had always supported each other on major issues concerning their core interests.
He said both China and Argentina were major developing countries. Further advancing bilateral links and mutually beneficial cooperation were in the basic interests of both countries and their peoples and conducive to advancing South-South cooperation.
Kirchner said Argentina and China shared a sound political relationship and strong trade links. They held the same or similar views on major global issues and cooperated within multilateral frameworks like the G20.
She said Argentina was ready to strengthen solidarity with China so as to work for a higher level of bilateral links.
During his meeting with Kirchner, Wen said the Chinese government support Chinese enterprises and financial institutes playing more active roles in Argantina's infrastructure construction and agricultural development.
Wen asked the two states to expand two-way investment, optimize trade structures, boost exchanges of technology and personnel, and properly handle disputes.
He hailed Latin American's potential and rising status on the international arena, and appealed to the two sides to learn from and support each other to realize common development.
Kirchner, in her turn, welcomed Chinese investors and pledged to further cooperation in such sectors as agriculture and transportation.
"As you have said, the distance and different history of Argentina and China cannot hinder us in being sincere friends," Kirchner told Wen, who said he was a fan of the Argentina football team and expressed disappointment at its failure in the World Cup.
Earlier Wednesday, Kirchner held a meeting in her hotel with Zhou Yongkang, one of the nine members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/14/c_111953209_7.htm
