On August 22, 2022, the "China (Sichuan) - Argentina Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Conference" co sponsored by CCPIT Sichuan Council and the Argentine Embassy in China was held in Chengdu. Mr. Sabino Vaca Narvaja, Argentine Ambassador to China, and Mrs. Huang Li, President of CCPIT Sichuan Council, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Mrs. Lei Xuejie, Vice President of CCPIT Sichuan Council, presided over the meeting.

As one of the series of activities in Sichuan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina and the 2022 China Argentina Year of Friendly Cooperation, the meeting aims to take advantage of the opportunity that Argentina will set up a consulate in our province, fully tap the potential of cooperation between our province and Argentina in the field of economy and trade, and promote practical cooperation between the business communities of both sides.

Venue of China (Sichuan) - Argentina Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Conference

In her speech, President Huang Li pointed out that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 50 years ago, bilateral relations have been moving forward. In recent years, Sichuan has frequent exchanges with Argentina. In 2021, the total import and export trade between Sichuan and Argentina will be nearly 235 million dollars. At present, the development of Sichuan has stood at a new historical starting point. Major opportunities such as the construction of Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle, the construction of the "the Belt and Road", and the western development in the new era are converging and overlapping in Sichuan. Argentina's establishment of a consulate in Sichuan is bound to further improve the level of bilateral cooperation. As a trade and investment promotion organization led by the provincial party committee and government, CCPIT Sichuan Council will make full use of this economic and trade cooperation exchange meeting to promote the continuous deepening of cooperation between Sichuan and Argentina.

Mr. Sabino Vaca Narvaja, Argentina's ambassador to China, said that for more than a decade, China has always been Argentina's second largest trading partner. China and Argentina have achieved fruitful cooperation not only in traditional fields such as agricultural products, but also in satellite, aerospace, biotechnology and knowledge-based service industries in recent years. Argentina looks forward to further expanding exchanges and cooperation with Sichuan and other western provinces by setting up consulate in Sichuan.

Mrs. Huang Li (third from right), President of CCPIT Sichuan Council, and Mr. Sabino Vaca Narvaja (fourth from right), Argentine Ambassador to China delivered speeches

During the meeting, Mr. Lucas Candia, Commercial Counsellor of the Argentine Embassy in China, introduced the advantages of Argentina's agriculture, industry and service industry in detail, pointing out that Argentina has obvious advantages in fruit, wine, olive oil and other products. In addition, Argentina has a high level of development in high-tech, software and data science, and hopes to carry out fruitful cooperation with China in the above fields.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Production and Development of Argentina in charge of productivity and regional development of small and medium-sized enterprises said in a video speech that China has huge market potential, especially Argentina's wine, dairy products, beef and food products are widely welcomed in China. Argentina's consulateship in Sichuan will create opportunities for the two countries to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges. Both sides should further strengthen ties, deepen cooperation and maximize the benefits of cooperation.

In April 2019, Sichuan Province and Buenos Aires Province of Argentina formally established friendly inter provincial relations, and the two sides officially became "sister provinces". As the second largest province in Argentina, Buenos Aires contributes 35% of the country's GDP, 49% of its industrial output and 35% of its trade exports. In order to further promote the cooperation between the two regions in the economic and trade field, the provincial government introduced the advantages and project information of the provincial economy, natural resources, labor force, science and technology through video at this economic and trade cooperation exchange meeting, helping enterprises in our province to deeply understand the trade and investment environment, policies and business opportunities of the province.

Argentina is the fifth largest wine producer in the world and the tenth largest wine exporter in China. In recent years, both the Argentine Embassy in China and the Argentine Wine Association have organized Argentine wine enterprises to come to Sichuan to participate in the "China Food & Drinks Fair" held in Chengdu in March each year. In July 2022, Argentina will be the guest of honor of the 17th China (Luzhou) International Alcoholic Drinks Expo. In this economic and trade cooperation exchange meeting, the Argentine Wine Association was specially invited to introduce the advantages of Argentina's wine industry through video. The Association expressed its willingness to cooperate with Chinese enterprises.

More than 20 enterprises, including Sichuan Newrise IMP. & EXP. Co., Ltd., Sichuan Shuguang Group, Chengdu Rainbow Electrical Appliance Group Co., Ltd., Chengdu Kanghua Biological Products Co., Ltd., Sichuan Machinery IMP.& EXP.CORP. , CRRC Meishan Co., Ltd., Sichuan Liquor & Tea Group, were invited to attend the conference, involving foreign trade, machinery manufacturing, biotechnology, food and beverage, etc, Among them, Chengdu Jouav Automation Technology Co., Ltd. and Chengdu AMT International Trade Co., Ltd. made speeches on behalf of enterprises. Chengdu Jouav Automation Technology Co., Ltd. has signed a UAV procurement project with the Ministry of Security of Buenos Aires Province. As an international trading company focusing on the whole industry chain of beef import, sales and processing, Chengdu AMT International Trade Co., Ltd. has been in Argentina for many years and plans to establish an Argentine branch this year. The above two enterprises shared their experience in cooperation with Argentina and expressed optimism about the future cooperation prospects. The participating enterprises actively communicated on issues of interest, and expressed that the exchange meeting was rich in content, targeted, and suited to the actual needs of enterprises. They hoped that CCPIT Sichuan Council would continue to build a good trade and investment promotion platform to provide more opportunities for Sichuan enterprises to cooperate with Argentine enterprises.

It is reported that Argentina will set up a consulate in Chengdu in, with the consulates in Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Yunnan and Chongqing.