Chinese, Mexican FMs agree to lift bilateral ties to higher level

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, agreed to promote bilateral ties in a phone conversation on Wednesday.

China attaches high importance to developing relations with Mexico and would like to work together with Mexico, taking the opportunity of next year's 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, to strengthen planning and boost the China-Mexico comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level, Wang said.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and also the 200th anniversary of the victory of the Mexican War of Independence, so it is of great significance to both countries, Wang said.

As regional countries with significant influence, representative emerging market countries and important developing countries, China and Mexico both have time-honored civilizations and similar historical experiences, Wang said, adding that they also shoulder the important task of the times to achieve national rejuvenation and deliver happiness for their people, and a shared mission to uphold international fairness and justice.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the China-Mexico comprehensive strategic partnership has been gaining ground, and the two countries' political mutual trust keeps deepening, strategic coordination are increasingly closer, and trade and economic cooperation has shown strong resilience, Wang said.

The two countries have also united to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperated in vaccines, injecting strong impetus to bilateral relations, Wang continued, stressing that the two sides have closely partnered with and support each other on the international and multilateral stages.

He also mentioned that China has officially filed an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which demonstrates China's strong determination to further open up and represents China's crucial move to help boost globalization.

China is willing to make joint efforts with all parties to make the agreement more broadly represented and play a positive role in promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, as well as following the trend of economic globalization, Wang said.

Noting that Mexico successfully hosted the 6th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) not long ago, Wang said it contributed to revitalizing CELAC and promoting regional integration, and expressed China's congratulations and appreciation to Mexico.

The Chinese side attaches high importance to developing relations with CELAC and will continue to support CELAC to improve solidarity and gear up development, he said.

China looks forward to close communication with Mexico and other Latin American countries to ensure the success of the Third Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum this year, injecting new impetus into the in-depth development of China-Latin America relations.

For his part, Ebrard said the relations between Mexico and China have made great progress under the guidance of the two heads of state.

He thanked China for its strong support to Mexico in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in digital economy and other emerging industries between the two sides.

Mexico would like to make joint efforts with China, by taking the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, to push for greater development of bilateral ties, Ebrard said.

Mexico firmly sticks to the one-China policy, abides by the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and supports China's legitimate claims on issues involving Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, he said.

The Mexican foreign minister commended and welcomed China's application to join the CPTPP, saying that Mexico will keep communication with China on the issue.

Mexico will work with China to ensure the success of the Third Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, he added.