Latin American, Caribbean diplomats plant friendship trees in Beijing

China

Latin American, Caribbean diplomats plant friendship trees in Beijing

2025-04-19 10:21 Last Updated At：16:57

A number of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) ambassadors to China on Friday participated in a tree planting activity in Beijing as a symbol to nurture friendship between their countries and China, ahead of the upcoming 4th ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.

The ambassadors and representatives planted ginkgo saplings to symbolize that the friendship between China and LAC countries is thriving and vibrant.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-CELAC Forum, and the 4th ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum will be held in Beijing in the first half of the year.

The diplomats said that over the past decade, the forum mechanism has been continuously improved, pushing China-Latin America relations into a new stage of equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and delivering real benefits to the people.

"The fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum will be held in Beijing in the first half of this year, which has received positive responses from LAC countries and regional organizations. I believe that the meeting will surely become a grand event of China-Latin America solidarity and cooperation, and set a new milestone for developing the relations between China-Latin America. At present, the preparations for the forum have entered the sprint stage. We are willing to strengthen communication and coordination with the ambassadors of Latin American countries in China to ensure the success of this meeting," Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese government for Latin American affairs, said at the tree planting event.

Many ambassadors said that in the current context of increasing global uncertainty and instability, the upcoming meeting will set a new milestone in the development of China-Latin America relations and help strengthen cooperation in the Global South.

"Cooperation within the framework of Belt and Road Initiative is an important way for Latin American countries and China to deepen their cooperation and promote trade." said Hugo Siles, ambassador of Bolivia to China.

"China has become the most prominent trading partner of all south American countries, and No. 2 trading partner for the whole Latin American and the Caribbean, and one of the key, most important actors in the areas of financing and investment, and also a very important actor in the field of cooperation," said Fernando Lugris, ambassador of Uruguay to China.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.