(International) Special Article: China's Nicaragua Relations Reach a New Beginning

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Nicaraguan relations have reached a new starting point

Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Hao Xi Yue

On the morning of December 20, President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Nicaraguan President Ortega. The two heads of state announced the formal establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Nicaragua.

Two years ago, China and Nepal resumed diplomatic relations, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. Over the past two years, with a sense of urgency, the two sides have pushed forward China-Nepal relations by leaps and bounds.

Standing at a new starting point, the cooperation between the two countries will move forward in broader and deeper fields, and mutual understanding and friendship between the two people will be further deepened, adding strong impetus to building a China-Latin America community with a shared future and promoting common global development.

Sino-Nepalese relations have made a qualitative leap

In the phone call on the 20th, President Xi Jinping pointed out that I am willing to work with President Ortega to take today's announcement of the establishment of the China-Nepal strategic partnership as a new starting point, promote China-Nepal relations to continuously achieve new results, and create a model of solidarity, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results.

After the phone call between the two heads of state, the two sides issued the "Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Nicaragua on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership."

On the 20th, Nicaragua's official media "19 Digital" information platform published the full text of the joint statement between the two countries on the establishment of a strategic partnership in an important position on the homepage, and published the news of the phone call between the heads of state of China and Nicaragua and the improvement of bilateral relations.

Over the past two years, China and Nepal have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns – China continues to firmly support Nicaragua in safeguarding national independence and national dignity and opposing foreign interference;

Over the past two years, the two sides have expanded their practical cooperation in an all-round way and made positive progress – Nicaragua joined the Belt and Road Initiative for the first time and fully supported the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, and China has become Nicaragua's second largest trading partner and second largest source of imports.

Chinese Ambassador to Nicaragua Chen Xi said that under the personal concern, strategic planning and political guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Nicaragua relations have achieved a qualitative leap, which is in line with the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is conducive to the common development and prosperity of the two countries.

Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that in the two years since the resumption of diplomatic relations, the practical cooperation between China and Nepal has achieved a series of "unexpected results", and the upgrading of bilateral relations marks that the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic and cultural fields have entered a more efficient and smooth stage of development.

During the phone call on the 20th, President Xi Jinping stressed that China is willing to strengthen experience exchanges with Nepal in governing the country and eradicating poverty. At the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, I put forward China's eight actions to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and welcomed Nepal's active coordination.

Laureano, adviser to the President of Nepal on investment, trade and international cooperation, told reporters: "Nepal and China are not only fraternal and friendly countries, but also strategic partners with a common vision of development. In particular, he pointed out that it is "extremely important" for Nepal and China to strengthen the exchange of experience between the party and the Chinese side in terms of governance and other aspects, which is not only conducive to the development of bilateral relations, but also conducive to the joint efforts of the two sides to address global challenges.

This year, Nepal has sent a high-level delegation to participate in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Nepal's Minister of Development, Industry and Trade Bermúdez believes that the Belt and Road cooperation will help Nepal strengthen infrastructure construction and play a more important role in regional trade, and hopes that Nepal can play a bridge role in trade between China and Latin America.

"We are on a beautiful path of development"

In the phone call on the 20th, President Xi Jinping pointed out that the China-Nepal Free Trade Agreement will officially enter into force on January 1 next year, which is a landmark cooperation achievement between the two countries, and the two sides should take this opportunity to continuously improve the scale and level of bilateral trade. China encourages powerful Chinese enterprises to invest in Nicaragua, and carry out more cooperation projects that are needed by Nicaragua, so as to benefit the Nicaraguan people. President Ortega said that Nepal sincerely thanks China for its valuable assistance in developing the economy and improving people's livelihood.

Today, in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, comfortable and environmentally friendly Chinese buses are shuttling to serve local citizens, and the construction site is a busy scene, and hundreds of affordable housing and supporting facilities built with the assistance of Chinese enterprises will improve the living conditions of local people.

Managua Mayor Rueda told reporters that in the past two years, from the gratifying changes in the city's appearance, she truly felt that the fruits of the rapid expansion of Nepal-China pragmatic cooperation have benefited the general public, and the long-term and stable development of Nepal-China bilateral relations "is related to the mutual benefit and win-win situation of the two countries and the well-being of the two peoples."

The city of Massaya is an important handicraft manufacturing center and creative industry city in Nicaragua. At a handicraft market in the heart of the city, dozens of vendors sell everything from leather to feather paintings to wood products. Two years ago, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters here, the mayor of Masaya, Yanina Noguera, expressed two wishes - to develop sister city relations with China and strengthen experience and technology exchanges with China.

Today, both of Noguera's wishes have been granted. In September this year, Masaya and Nanjing signed a letter of intent to establish sister city relations to promote exchanges and cooperation in green and smart cities, education, sports, culture and other fields. This year, Noguera has visited Kunming and other Chinese cities, focusing on how China's cultural industry can drive economic development.

For the future, Noguera has a new wish - to introduce China's successful experience to Masaya as soon as possible, develop local industries, and benefit the local people. At the same time, she expects that the upcoming China-Nepal Free Trade Agreement will further promote Nicaragua's economic development and benefit practitioners in the handicraft manufacturing and other industries in Masaya, "We are on a beautiful road of development."

In the western city of León, the archives of the famous Nicaraguan writer Rubén Darío house his work on China. Morales, Nigeria's Minister of Culture, told reporters that as early as more than a century ago, Dalio repeatedly mentioned distant China in his poems, novels and essays to show readers that China cherishes culture. Morales said that he expects the two countries to jointly inherit the excellent culture and promote people-to-people exchanges, including the younger generation.

Natalia Caldera is one of more than 30 Nicaraguan students studying in China. She told reporters that over the past year or so of studying at Beijing University of Foreign Chinese and Xi, she and her Chinese classmates have deepened their understanding of each other's cultures, and they have witnessed the closer and closer relations between the two countries. She hopes that the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of culture, education, youth, and media will be further expanded, and she also wants to record more Chinese stories and "become an envoy of friendly exchanges between the two countries."

Those who are like-minded do not take mountains and seas as far

During the call, President Xi Jinping said that China is willing to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with Nepal in international affairs, oppose hegemonism and power politics, promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. President Ortega said that Nepal is ready to deepen bilateral friendly relations with China, strengthen multilateral cooperation, oppose external interference and power politics, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In the joint statement, the two sides agreed that China and Nepal are both developing countries, share extensive common interests and similar positions and propositions in international affairs, and will further support each other in international affairs.

Just as Ignacio Martínez, an expert on international affairs at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said, the escalation of Nepal-China relations is another vivid example of Latin American countries actively developing relations with China.

Looking back at 2023, head-of-state diplomacy has led China-Latin America relations to achieve steady and far-reaching development. President Xi Jinping met and held talks with leaders of many Latin American countries, made phone calls and letters, and interacted closely in multilateral arenas such as BRICS and APEC. Leaders of many Latin American countries have visited China one after another, witnessing new developments in bilateral relations: Honduras has established diplomatic relations with China, and the two governments signed the Belt and Road Initiative during President Castro's visit to China Memorandum of Understanding, Brazilian President Lula's visit to China, China-Brazil Joint Statement on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's visit to China, China-Venezuela relations upgraded to all-weather strategic partnership, Colombian President Petro's visit to China, China-Venezuela relations upgraded to a strategic partnership, Uruguayan President Lacalle's visit to China, China-Uzbekistan relations upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership......

Song Junying, director of the Institute of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said that under the guidance of the diplomacy of the heads of state, China-Latin America and the Caribbean relations have made great progress and deepened practical cooperation.

Those who are like-minded do not take mountains and seas as far. Under the guidance of the diplomacy of the heads of state, China and Nicaragua are playing a new movement in jointly building a China-Latin America community with a shared future. China will work hand in hand with its Latin American partners to set an example of South-South cooperation and inject important strength into improving global governance. (Participating reporters: Chen Yin, Zhang Yuan) (end)