China, Uruguay sign MoU to deepen trade ties during President Orsi's visit

China and Uruguay have strengthened their trade ties following President Yamandu Orsi's visit, with both countries signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen bilateral trade cooperation, said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Thursday.

Spokesman He Yadong briefed the media on the outcomes in economic and trade cooperation achieved during President Orsi's state visit to China from Feb 1 to 7.

President Orsi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit, and the two heads of state also witnessed the signing of a MoU on deepening bilateral trade.

"In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Uruguay have seen deepening political mutual trust and steady progress in cooperation across various fields. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay signed a MoU on deepening bilateral trade facilitation cooperation. The MoU confirms that both sides will enhance collaboration in areas, such as supply chains, standards and conformity assessment, trade facilitation and digitalization, and green trade, to promote high-quality development of bilateral trade," He said.

The United States' international trade deficit in goods and services was 57.3 billion U.S. dollars in February, up 4.9 percent from January, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday.

The country's imports of goods and services increased by 4.3 percent month on month to 372.1 billion U.S. dollars in February, as the surging demand for artificial intelligence and data center construction significantly boosted imports of products such as computers and semiconductors.

U.S. exports of goods and services in February rose by 4.2 percent month on month to 314.8 billion U.S. dollars, mainly driven by increases in exports of non-monetary gold and natural gas.