After six years, Montevideo will host the Mercosur-China Dialogue 7th Meeting, which will be represented by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Albertoni will lead Uruguay’s delegation to the forum, which will also see the participation of representatives from Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
For Foreign Minister Omar Paganini, this is an “instance of dialogue with the second largest economy in the world and one of the region’s main trading partners.” For this reason, it was considered necessary to identify instruments that may improve commercial integration with China.
Last week, President Luis Lacalle Pou received the head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Jianchao.
Both parties valued the Comprehensive Strategic Alliance declaration signed in November 2023 during an official visit by Lacalle Pou to Beijing.
China is Uruguay’s main trading partner and buys more than 20 percent of the South American country’s exports, with a record value of 4,457 million dollars in 2022.
Uruguay seeks to reach a free trade agreement with China, but, to do so, it demands greater flexibility in Mercosur rules.