China Confirms Its Support for Argentina’s BRICS Bid

China has confirmed its support for Argentina’s bid to become part of the BRICS block. This was announced by Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Santiago Cafiero after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

“Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has confirmed China’s support for Argentina’s membership bid to the BRICS,” wrote Cafiero on Twitter. The meeting between delegates of Argentina and China took place as part of the Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers of G20, which is taking place in Bali, Indonesia.

A statement issued by the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that China’s support corresponds to a previous agreement reached during the recent BRICS summit held on June 24.

Joint collaboration
Santiago Cafiero and Wang Yi announced new impetus to the high-level joint collaboration between the two countries, as well as to other important strategic issues on the bilateral agenda, in order to strengthen a comprehensive strategic partnership between Argentina and China.

At the meeting, Yi formally confirmed his country’s support for Argentina’s membership to the BRICS group. Cafiero also highlighted the importance of a more balanced and diversified bilateral trade between China and Argentina, as well as the need to streamline market opening processes.

Argentina-China relations
Wang Yi highlighted Argentine President Alberto Fernández’s participation at the BRICS Summit of Heads of State held on June 24, and that of Cafiero at the Foreign Ministers Meeting held on May 19, 2022. He declared this year as the “Argentina and China Year of Friendship and Cooperation,” and it marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Minister Cafiero highlighted the importance of the relations between the two nations and thanked “Chinese support for the Argentine position on the Malvinas.” Cafiero also reaffirmed Argentina’s commitment to continue working to expand binational cooperation regarding maritime, Antarctic and resource issues.

Profundizar el multilateralismo es prioridad para nuestra política exterior. Eso nos permite alcanzar acuerdos que benefician al país y la región.
En el marco del @g20org, China respaldó el ingreso argentino al BRICS y avanzamos en potenciar el vínculo CELAC – Unión Europea. pic.twitter.com/wH45pTHzVU
— Santiago Cafiero (@SantiagoCafiero) July 7, 2022

Regional affairs
Regional affairs was also an important subject of the meeting. Argentina is the current pro tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and has also recently joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The two foreign ministers highlighted the signing of the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Chinese State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and Argentina’s Applied Research Corporation (INVAP). This agreement focuses on nuclear energy, defense, and space exploration.

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Joint commission for August
The Argentina-China meeting also served to advance in the concretion of the Argentina-China Joint Economic-Commercial Commission meeting to be held in August. The meeting will discuss strenthening of commercial routes and explore incentives and discounts regarding freight rates between the two countries.

Currently, China is Argentina’s second largest trading partner and the second largest destination for Argentine exports. According to official data, in the first five months of 2022, Argentina imported Chinese goods worth $7.084 billion and exported goods worth $2.211 billion to China.

Facts about BRICS
The BRICS group is an informal intergovernmental economic-commercial association of five rapidly developing countries, which aim to develop multilateral cooperation. BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and represents around 40% of the world’s population and accounts for 25% of the world economy.

The recent BRICS Business Forum, held on June 22, emphasized issues of global cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

BRICS has played a central role in promoting a new international financial architecture with the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) added to the Continence Reserves Agreement (ARC), which would serve as instruments for global macroeconomic stability oriented towards productivity and the promotion of a new multipolar world order.

(Últimas Noticias) by Janna Corredor

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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