The view of Montevideo, capital of Uruguay File photo: VCG

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin on Wednesday hailed China's consistent efforts to promote opening-up, noting that his country will work intensively with China to defend free trade in the face of global headwinds of trade protectionism.

Lubetkin, who attended the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum on Tuesday, made the remarks during a press conference held at the Embassy of Uruguay in Beijing, after he conducted visits to Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs).

The foreign minister started his China visit on May 9 in Hong Kong, and went to Macao the next day. After high-level meetings with the chief executives of both SARs, the opening of the Consulate General of Uruguay for Hong Kong and Macao was announced. 

In Beijing, Lubetkin met with Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce.

"I think I am ending an extraordinary visit with very concrete results... and this drives me to think about the depth of future relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and China, and between Uruguay and China," Lubetkin said on Wednesday.

Promoting free trade

"During the meetings we had with the different ministers here in China, we clearly leave with the idea that China is opening up and defending free trade in the face of certain storms in the international scenario and that this will determine that we will work intensively with the Chinese authorities, because we also want the same thing (free trade)," Lubetkin told the Global Times.

"We want our world and the economy to open up, to have more freedom from the commercial point of view, and for that, as we were talking today with the Chinese Vice Commerce Minister (Li Chenggang), we will have to work harder so that we can obtain more results from an open market, a market that demands freedom of action in the form of multilateralism, which will enable us to be able to work with greater comfort and with greater expectations for the future," Lubetkin said. 

"We were saying is that China is doing very well. We are undoubtedly talking about such an important population in the world that has so much influence on the international community and on the economic sector... China's growth can also determine for us and for other countries in Latin America and the world (to pursue) greater growth, therefore this is the best way and the best news for us, "he noted.

The intention of the Uruguayan authorities is to strengthen all free trade agreements. And of course, China is one of the major players in the future process. "I believe that it will be a natural process in the future to move on to a new phase in the negotiations, in the dialogue, and the conclusion of a (free trade) agreement between countries from the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and China," the official said. 

Partnership under BRI

In 2018, Uruguay became the first country in Mercosur to sign a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation with China.

When meeting with Lubetkin on Monday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is willing to work with Uruguay to deepen high-quality BRI cooperation, and continuously enrich the connotation of the China-Uruguay comprehensive strategic partnership with stronger political mutual trust, higher-level mutually beneficial cooperation and closer multilateral collaboration, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Lubetkin said on Wednesday that the textile sector was initially a key part of Uruguay's exports to China, in addition to the export of forestry products, pulp, cellulose and wood. "And gradually we consolidated our position as the main supplier of powdered milk, beef, and soybeans. I believe that we have a huge promise ahead of us, such as the growth in the services area, technology, IT development as well as tourism," he said. 

The official also noted the great cooperation potential in the green field between the two countries.

In 2023, China announced eight major steps aiming at advancing the high-quality development under the BRI framework, and deeper cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy, and green transportation has become a key focus of the eight initiatives, according to a Xinhua News Agency report..

"Uruguay is the world's second largest per capita producer of clean energy, just after Denmark," Lubetkin said. According to media reports, renewables accounted for 99 percent of Uruguay's electricity generation in 2024.

"One of those great partners, due to its own experience, is China, and (green collaboration) is one of the issues that we want to deepen cooperation, to look ahead in a field with limitless potential," Lubetkin noted.

In 2024, the bilateral trade between China and Uruguay in 2024 amounted to $6.59 billion, of which Chinese imports from Uruguay amounted to $3.32 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42.7 percent. China remained Uruguay's top trading partner and largest export market for 12 consecutive years.

The stable China-Uruguay ties mirror the enhanced cooperation between China and LAC countries. Trade between China and the region reached $518.4 billion in 2024, doubling the figure seen a decade ago. By 2023, Chinese investment in the region had exceeded $600 billion, according to Xinhua.

As the second-largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, China now has more free trade agreements with Latin American countries than anywhere outside Asia, Xinhua reported.

Lin Jian, spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on Wednesday that the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum reached more than 100 three-year cooperation projects, and China announced 20 measures to support LAC countries' development.

Lin noted that China-LAC solidarity goes with the trend of the times, and the two sides, as members of the Global South and important forces promoting free trade, multi-polarity and greater democracy in international relations, will enhance solidarity and cooperation in the world.

"China-LAC cooperation enjoys promising prospects, as the two sides combined create a mega-sized market with a population of 2 billion, and this will provide new driving forces and new opportunities for the growth of both sides and the whole world," the spokesperson said.