Uruguay's bid to deepen trade, cultural links highlighted in Orsi's China visit: official

Uruguay is seeking to deepen trade facilitation and people-to-people exchanges with China as President Yamandu Orsi begins his first state visit since taking office, a senior trade official said.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Orsi is paying a week-long state visit to China from February 1 to 7. The trip coincides with the 38th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Martin Mercado, deputy executive director of Uruguay XXI, a national agency that promotes Uruguay's exports and investments, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that China and Uruguay signed a framework agreement in November 2025 to establish a single window for international trade, aimed at boosting efficiency and streamlining procedure.

"I think this will boost and fasten all paperwork with trade related to China and Uruguay. What we are bringing to the table is our experience because we already have this type of agreement with Mexico and Colombia, so we have this expertise. And at the same time, beginning this year, we're going to create a technical workgroup, so we can move forward and set up activities and a road map to strengthen this relationship," said Mercado.

Beyond trade, Mercado highlighted growing exchanges in education and culture, pointing to a steady increase in the number of Uruguayans traveling to and studying in China.

"You'll be surprised how many Uruguayans are going to China, especially for educational purposes. After this trip, I hope that there is a presence of our president in China; I hope we can have more of Chinese students or Chinese tourists coming into Uruguay. A large number of Uruguayan students have gone over the last 30 years ago to China to know the culture, to different universities. So this is a high number and is growing every year," said Mercado.

Orsi's visit comes as Uruguay seeks to further broaden its economic engagement with China. In 2018, Uruguay became the first country in the Southern Common Market to join the Belt and Road Initiative, which Mercado described as a timely mechanism to enhance trade efficiency and deepen bilateral cooperation.

Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi paid a visit to a section of the Great Wall in Beijing on Monday as part of his ongoing state visit to China.

Orsi arrived in the Chinese capital on Sunday to begin a week-long state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Video footage shot by the CCTV Video News Agency showed Orsi posing for photos with tourists while climbing a stretch of the Great Wall on Monday morning.

The Uruguayan president later visited another Beijing landmark when he stopped by the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, on the same day.

Orsi held talks with President Xi in the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, with the two countries vowing to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields.