Workers unload vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac on its arrival in Montevideo, Uruguay. File photo:Xinhua

China and Uruguay are expected to conduct deep exchanges on bilateral trade convenience and new cooperation sectors like technology during Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo Bonasso's five-day visit to China starting from Sunday, experts said.

Uruguay's push for closer economic and trade cooperation with China will bring remarkable benefits to the South American country and contribute to its ambition to be a logistics and financial hub in South America, they said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Francisco Bustillo Bonasso is making a visit to China from Sunday to Thursday. During the visit, the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing on Friday.

"The two sides are expected to conduct in-depth exchanges on bringing convenience to bilateral trade as well as on expanding cooperation in investment, technology and other sectors," Sun Yanfeng, a research fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The Uruguayan side has shown an active attitude in conducting economic and trade cooperation with China, aiming to expand the scope of trade and improve the trade structure with China for achieving its goal of becoming a logistics and financial hub in South America, Sun said.

Some Chinese companies have helped the modernization of ports in Uruguay while Chinese automakers such as Chery and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co have established plants there to support the country's efforts in exploring re-industrialization, he said.

With Uruguay being an important agricultural exporter, it has strong trade complementarity with China, and there is great cooperation potential to be further tapped, experts said.

"More convenient trade will bring notable benefits to the Latin American country, which heavily relies on exports of agricultural products," Zhou Zhiwei, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

China has inelastic, long-term demand for these products, and thus China's increased imports will bring material support to the Uruguayan economy, Zhou said, citing the examples of Chile and Peru after the signing of free trade agreements (FTAs).

In July 2022, both governments announced the completion of joint feasibility studies for an FTA, calling for active communication to discuss the next steps that can enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

In recent years, China-Uruguay economic and trade cooperation has maintained rapid development. China has become the largest trade partner of Uruguay, and also the largest importer of its beef, soybeans and wool.

According to data released by China's General Administration of Customs, bilateral foreign trade reached $7.44 billion in 2022, up 14.9 percent on a yearly basis. China's imports from Uruguay jumped 23 percent to hit $4.46 billion last year.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin American countries will reach a new climax after the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo Bonasso, Zhou said.

"It's important for both China and Latin American countries to explore more mechanisms to ensure efficient economic and trade cooperation," he said, noting that they could expand cooperation in agriculture, new energy, new types of infrastructure like 5G and the green economy.