China, Argentina pledge to deepen bilateral relations

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez have pledged to further deepening ties between the two countries. In their meeting in the capital of Argentina, the Chinese Premier said that over the past 40 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties, bilateral relations have withstood many tests and witnessed continuous progress that has benefited the two countries and two peoples and made positive contribution to the world, Chinese news agency (Xinhua) reported. In the face of an increasingly complex international situation fraught with serious challenges, it is in the fundamental interest of both countries to further promote the overall development of China-Argentina strategic partnership, Wen said. He added that China will work with Argentina to safeguard peace, justice and the interests of developing countries and promote more democratic international relations. China and Argentina will set up a dialogue mechanism to explore the integration of the two countries' industries and guide the expansion of cooperation between the two countries' enterprises, he added. The two countries have also agreed to comprehensively deepen cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, financial services, energy, polar regions, oceans and environment, according to Wen. They also pledged further cooperation in aviation and tourism, and closer people-to-people exchanges to create a stable, friendly and convenient environment for the development of bilateral ties, ha added. For her part, the Argentine President said that bilateral ties have witnessed rapid development over the past 40 years and have generated fruitful outcomes in all fields and promoted the common development of both countries. In the face of the serious challenges posed by the international financial crisis, Argentina is willing to learn from China's development experience and strengthen strategic communication with China to carefully plan cooperation between the two countries in various fields, Fernandez said. The leaders of the two countries also witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents.