Beijing, August 20th—Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), met here today with Francisco Perez Mackenna, Chilean Foreign Minister. 

Liu said, Chile is the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Over more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Chile have always treated each other as equals and pursued mutually beneficial cooperation, with the outcomes of cooperation in various fields benefiting the people of both countries. In recent years, with the care and promotion of President Xi Jinping and Chilean leaders, high-level exchanges between China and Chile have continued to deepen, economic and trade cooperation has steadily expanded, and bilateral relations have maintained strong momentum of development. As an important component of China-Chile relations, inter-party exchanges have played an important role in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation and promoting the development of bilateral relations. The CPC is ready to maintain close exchanges with political parties of Chile at various levels, deepen exchanges and mutual learning on party governance and state administration, leverage the advantages of inter-party channels to promote practical cooperation, and advance China-Chile relations to new heights. This year marks the "China Year" of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). China stands ready to work with Chile to uphold true multilateralism and oppose unilateralism and protectionism. 

Perez noted, although Chile and China are far apart geographically, the two countries enjoy a long-standing friendship. Over the 56 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have pursued mutually beneficial cooperation and achieved fruitful outcomes in areas including economic and trade cooperation. Chile's new government maintains continuity in its foreign policy and regards China as an important partner for the future. Deepening cooperation with China is of great significance to Chile's economic development and industrial advancement, and Chile stands ready to expand cooperation with China in areas including minerals, artificial intelligence, the digital economy and energy transition. As protectionism is on the rise in the world today, Chile remains committed to openness and welcomes more Chinese companies to invest and operate in Chile, so as to deliver more outcomes from Chile-China cooperation. Chile is ready to strengthen inter-party exchanges with China and deepen exchanges of experience on state governance and administration. 

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common interest. 

Ma Hui, Vice-minister of the IDCPC, Alfonso Silva, Chilean Ambassador to China, and others attended the meeting.