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China is willing to negotiate on the signing of free trade agreements (FTA) with Uruguay and other Southern Common Market (Mercosur) countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
Wang made the remarks when meeting the press with his Uruguayan counterpart Rodolfo Nin Novoa in Uruguayan capital Montevideo.
The visiting Chinese foreign minister added that China will join hands with Uruguay to upgrade their trade cooperation, look for potential collaboration in innovative sectors, and consolidate their strategic partnership.
At the joint press conference, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said, "We are going to firmly promote the agreement," adding his country would "continue working on this matter and convincing its Mercosur partners of the importance of this issue."
Uruguay is open to "free trade with clear rules ... that satisfy the parties that take part in such agreements," said Nin Novoa. In the second half of 2018, Uruguay will take over the rotating presidency of Mercosur, which also gathers Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Also on Wednesday, Wang and Nin Novoa signed an agreement to extend visas for business travelers. Nin Novoa said that such accords are "not just about goods and services," but also include "very important" investment and cultural components.
During Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez's trip to China in 2016, the two governments established a strategic partnership and agreed to consider the possibility of signing an FTA.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
