MERCOSUR-China Dialogue

Reaffirming their commitment to regional integration and to a multilateral trading system that is open, inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory, and rules-based, MERCOSUR and China held their Sixth Dialogue Meeting in Montevideo.

“The holding of this meeting is a milestone in itself, as under Uruguay’s Pro Tempore Presidency, this dialogue mechanism was reactivated after 14 years of inactivity,” highlighted the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an official statement.

The respective delegations were led by Mr. Qin Gang, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China; Mr. Javier Arana, Undersecretary for Trade Strategy and Economic Promotion of the Argentine Republic; Mr. Ronaldo Costa, Undersecretary General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Mr. Juan Ángel Delgadillo, Vice Minister of Economic Relations and Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay; and Uruguay’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ariel Bergamino, representing the MERCOSUR Pro Tempore Presidency.

The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry also stressed that “resuming dialogue with China was a priority for Uruguay’s Pro Tempore Presidency, in line with the commitments expressed by President Vázquez and Foreign Minister Nin Novoa during the last MERCOSUR Summit of Heads of State held in Asunción.”

“All four MERCOSUR Member States welcomed the resumption of the dialogue. MERCOSUR and China agreed to systematize this mechanism and restore the regular meeting schedule. In that regard, they agreed to hold the next Dialogue Meeting in 2019, on a date to be confirmed,” the statement concluded.