State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met in Beijing Thursday with visiting Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Antonio Bielsa, calling for the two sides to endeavor to push forward a China-Argentine strategic partnership.

China and Argentina have favorable conditions for fostering bilateral ties and China is willing to make concerted efforts with Argentina to implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, Tang said, noting that the two sides should expand political mutual trust and boost exchanges and communications between the two peoples in various fields.

Tang also spoke positively on the growth of ties between China and Latin American countries, highlighting that the opportunities for cooperation between China and Latin American countries will continue to grow as the two sides both enter a new round of development.

The two sides should work actively to promote exchanges and cooperation from a strategic perspective to achieve common prosperity, Tang stressed.

Bielsa said Argentina and China share extensive bilateral ties, pledging that Argentina will join hands with China to further the bilateral cooperation in various fields and steadily step up relations between the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2005)