China FTA talks on the cards as Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo begins 5-day visit

Bustillo expected to use his trip to try to speed up negotiations for a Uruguay-China FTA, formal talks on which started last year

Coming days after visit by Brazilian president, Uruguayan minister’s trip also raises hopes of a free-trade deal between Beijing and Mercosur bloc

Reading Time:3 minutes

Visit by Francisco Bustillo comes as China seeks to foster closer ties with South America amid growing geopolitical tensions with the United States. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 9:18pm, 17 Apr 2023Updated: 1:16am, 18 Apr 2023

The foreign minister of Uruguay, Francisco Bustillo, hailed the decades-old relationship with China as he continued a five-day visit aimed at deepening bilateral ties and taking forward negotiations on a potential free-trade deal.

“One of the biggest achievements we made in the past 35 years has been enhancing our trade ties,” Bustillo told an event on Monday marking the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Uruguay, according to the Chinese foreign ministry’s Latin American and Caribbean Affairs department.

The visit by Bustillo, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, comes as China seeks to foster closer ties with South America amid growing geopolitical tensions with the United States, which often considers the region to be its “backyard”.

The two sides would hold in-depth talks on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, the Chinese foreign ministry said ahead of the visit. The April 16-20 trip would deepen political mutual trust, boost practical cooperation and take bilateral relations “to a new height”, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Coming close on the heels of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s trip to China last week, Bustillo’s visit also raises hopes of closing the gap on a separate free-trade deal with the Southern Common Market, or Mercosur – which apart from Uruguay has Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay as full members.