China and Uruguay agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership on Tuesday as President Xi Jinping hosted Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi in Beijing, marking a renewed commitment to long term cooperation nearly four decades after the two countries established diplomatic relations.
The meeting coincided with the anniversary of diplomatic ties first launched on February 3 1988 and produced a series of new agreements aimed at expanding collaboration across trade, investment, development planning, and people to people exchanges.
Orsi is on a weeklong state visit to China, his first since taking office in March 2025 and the first by a Latin American head of state to China this year amid a packed diplomatic calendar in Beijing. During the talks, the two leaders oversaw the signing of 19 cooperation documents and endorsed a joint statement outlining future priorities.
Xi described Orsi as a long standing friend of the Chinese people and said ties between China and Uruguay have become an example of peaceful coexistence between countries with different political systems and economic scales.
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China and Uruguay should continue to firmly support each other’s core interests, Xi said, while expanding engagement across government levels and strengthening mutual trust through governance exchanges.
Xi highlighted China’s upcoming 15th Five Year Plan covering 2026 to 2030, noting that it would create new development opportunities for partners including Uruguay. He encouraged closer alignment of national strategies and deeper cooperation in areas such as trade, finance, agriculture, infrastructure, communications technology, green development, digital industries, clean energy, and emerging growth sectors.
The Chinese leader also called for broader cooperation in education, culture, sports, media, and local level exchanges, along with measures to ease cross border travel and strengthen public ties.
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China remained Uruguay’s largest trading partner in 2025. Official Uruguayan figures showed exports to China reached 3.493 billion dollars last year, up nearly 12 percent from the previous year, while imports totaled 2.813 billion dollars between January and November.
Xi voiced China’s support for Uruguay as it prepares to assume the rotating chair of the Group of 77 and China in 2026. He also welcomed Uruguay’s leadership roles within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Southern Common Market.
China stands ready to work with regional partners to further develop cooperation between China and Latin America, Xi said, showing Beijing’s interest in strengthening ties across the Global South.
Orsi reaffirmed Uruguay’s support for the one China principle and said relations with China now represent a clear state policy backed across Uruguay’s political spectrum.
He added that Montevideo is committed to multilateral cooperation, respect for the United Nations Charter, and the protection of the global trading system.
