China and Argentina signed five agreements here Tuesday that will allow
them to expand cooperation in the areas of trade, space, education, tourism and
railways.
Chinese and Argentine ministers signed the agreements after visiting Chinese
President Hu Jintao held talks with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner.
"We have reached wide-ranging consensus on bilateral cooperation and
international issues of mutual concerns," Hu told the press after the talks.
China and Argentina reaffirmed to develop a "strategic partnership" and
support each other on major issues like territorial integrity, Hu said.
The two sides agreed to expand cooperation in the areas of agriculture and
animal husbandry, mineral resources, energy, transportation and
telecommunications.
Hu began his state visit to Argentina on Tuesday morning, the first since he
became president last year.
President Kirchner said China has become Argentina's fourth largest trading
partner and "best goods buyer" in Asia.
Two-way trade reached 3.2 billion US dollars last year, up 122 percent from
the year before, according to Chinese figures.
China mainly imported soybean, bean oil, crude oil, leather andsteel from
Argentina, and exported computer, life science products, bulb and motorcycles,
according to China's Ministry of Commerce.
President Kirchner visited China earlier this year, during which the two
sides signed a number of cooperation documents in the areas of civil aviation,
public health, culture, investment and agriculture.
China and Argentina established full diplomatic relations in 1972.