Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a strategic partnership between the two countries during a meeting in Beijing.
The partnership agreement was one of a dozen agreements that seek to promote greater bilateral cooperation in the coming years.
Petro said he also met with executives of the China Harbour Engineering Company Limited and the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to discuss the ongoing construction of a metro in Bogota and the possible construction of a railroad to connect Colombia’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
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The bilateral agreements seek to promote cooperation in the energy sector, agriculture, manufacturing, health, ICT and aerospace, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the presidents of both countries.
Trade Ministry
The Chinese government agreed to the adoption of trade protocols that would allow Colombian businesses to increase meat exports to the Asian giant.
These protocols had been promoted by former President Ivan Duque before traveling to Beijing in 2019 and would allow a reduction of Colombia’s current trade deficit with China.
In order to promote other trade sectors, the Chinese and Colombian presidents agreed to create a binational workgroup for economic cooperation work group that would exchange information on trade legislation and potential commercial projects.