Xi: Cooperation with Colombia flourishing

President Xi Jinping called on the governments and people of China and Colombia to work together for friendly cooperation in all areas, including the fight against COVID-19, as the latest shipment of vaccines from China arrived in the capital, Bogota, on Saturday.

Xi made the remark in a video speech delivered to the Colombian people at the invitation of Colombian President Ivan Duque. It was the third batch of vaccines that Colombia has purchased from China. The first vaccines arrived on Feb 20.

Xi said the two countries have assisted each other in overcoming the current difficulties and actively carried out anti-epidemic cooperation.

Even the vast Pacific Ocean cannot get in the way of the profound friendship between the two peoples, he said.

According to Xi, since the two countries established diplomatic ties 41 years ago, the Sino-Colombian relationship has achieved historic development.

Now China is the second-largest trading partner of Colombia, and Chinese enterprises have been actively engaged in Colombia's construction in all fields.

People-to-people exchanges between the two countries are flourishing, with China-Colombia friendship deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples, Xi added.

He called on the governments and people in both countries to push forward bilateral friendly cooperation to a new level, so as to better benefit the two peoples.

Duque, who held a special event to broadcast Xi's speech nationwide, thanked President Xi and the brotherly Chinese people for their deep friendship with the Colombian people as well as important support for the country's anti-epidemic efforts.

Developing relations with China is a broad consensus among all political parties in Colombia, Duque said, noting that his country stands ready to work with China to keep deepening the Colombia-China relationship.

China has provided or will provide vaccine aid to 80 countries and three international organizations, Tian Lin, a spokesman for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said on Friday.