Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a state visit, becoming the first foreign leader from a Latin American and Caribbean country to visit China in the new year.

Accompanied by a delegation that includes government officials, business leaders, university representatives and academics, Orsi is also scheduled to visit Shanghai during his weeklong tour.

According to a news release issued by the Presidency of Uruguay, the official mission reflects Uruguay's strategic commitment to strengthening its international integration, generating new trade and investment opportunities, deepening cooperation in key areas such as science and technology, and consolidating a bilateral relationship that contributes to the country's growth and development.

On the eve of his visit to China, Orsi said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency in Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, that developing friendly relations with China is a consensus across all sectors in Uruguay. Thanks to the tireless efforts of both sides, "the steps are always forward toward a closer relationship", he said.

China and Uruguay established their comprehensive strategic partnership in November 2023, laying a solid foundation for the deepening of bilateral relations.

The visit by Orsi, who assumed office in March 2025, is widely seen as an indication of the high importance he places on China-Uruguay relations.

Orsi expressed hope that his visit would further deepen bilateral ties and add another brick to the edifice of friendship between Uruguay and China.

Highlighting the strong complementarity between the economic structures of the two countries, Orsi said increasingly close trade and economic relations have continued to deliver mutual benefits to both peoples.

In 2025, China remained Uruguay's leading export destination and a key market for its agricultural products, such as soybeans and beef. Uruguayan data showed that the country's exports to China last year totaled $3.493 billion, marking growth of nearly 12 percent year-on-year and accounting for 26 percent of its total exports.

Chinese investment in Uruguay has expanded steadily across a range of strategic sectors, including meat processing, agribusiness and international commodities trade.

According to Orsi, Chinese-manufactured photovoltaic panels and other new energy products have gained strong market acceptance in Uruguay, opening new avenues for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries.

Regarding the four major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping, Orsi described them as the pillars that support the edifice of a world at peace.

In his view, "if there is one thing that is crystal clear that the world has to rethink and redesign, it is global governance".

As Uruguay is set to assume the rotating presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States this year, Orsi voiced the hope that the grouping would strengthen cooperation with China and other nations and organizations, in order to uphold multilateralism and work together to build a more coordinated and collaborative world.

Zhou Zhiwei, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the visit comes amid a broader context of unilateral and hegemonic policies, pursued by certain countries, that have prompted countries in the region to diversify their diplomatic ties and defend their development sovereignty.

"As Uruguay's largest trading partner for years and a key engine of global growth, China aligns closely with Uruguay's development strategy in areas such as agricultural exports and energy transition, offering irreplaceable and stable cooperative opportunities," Zhou said.