Uruguayan President Visits China: Orsi visits China to boost agriculture, trade cooperation

Source: CGTN

Update: Feb 04, 2026, 2:55 PM

Uruguay's President Yamandú Orsi is the first Latin American head of state to visit China in 2026. The visit comes at a sensitive moment, as the United States seeks to restore its dominance in the Western hemisphere and control Latin American affairs. Sun Tianyuan reports. 

SUN TIANYUAN Beijing "President Yamandú Orsi arrived in China with a high-level delegation including nearly 100 business leaders. It is one of the largest delegations Uruguay has ever sent to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations. The visit is focused on economic development, with a strong emphasis on agricultural cooperation. On Sunday, the first Chinese official to welcome the Uruguayan president at the airport was China's Minister of Agriculture. China and Uruguay have built strong agricultural trade ties, with beef and dairy products at the core. Uruguay's agricultural industry has high expectations for this visit.

GABRIEL FERNÁNDEZ SECCO, President, Conaprole "This trip is very important for us. China is very important for us, the most important market in terms of dairy products."

GASTON SCAYOLA, President, National Meat Institute of Uruguay "I feel proud of this possibility. Exports are very important for our economy. I can see Uruguay increasing the production of meat."

SUN TIANYUAN Beijing "President Orsi's visit also comes as the United States intensifies its engagement in Latin American and Caribbean affairs. Following US strikes on Venezuela, countries across the region are once again facing pressure to take sides. Uruguay, however, is sending a clear message: it will make its own choices."

XU TIANQI, Deputy Director of the Areas Study Department, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin Univ. "At present, Trump has warned Latin American countries not to cooperate with China. Yet Uruguay, one of the wealthiest countries in the region, still chose to engage with China, ignoring these U.S. warnings. I think this clearly has some strategic significance.

For Uruguay, China is not a geopolitical question. It is a major market offering long-term and predictable economic opportunities. For more than a decade, China has been Uruguay's key trading partner and its largest export destination. Official data shows that in 2025, China accounted for about 26 percent of Uruguay's total goods exports. At last year's China–CELAC ministerial meeting, China and the region announced over 100 cooperation projects for the 2025 to 2027 period, along with 20 new Chinese initiatives to support regional development. A closer partnership reflects the choices of both Chinese and Latin American societies, and serves the shared interests of both sides.

BENJAMIN NORTON, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Geopolitical Economy Report "Latin American and Caribbean is an independent and sovereign region. It's willing to trade with the US if it is treated under equal terms. But it also wants to trade with China and other countries. It wants to have its own independent policy."

As debate over a renewed "Monroe Doctrine" resurfaces, countries like Uruguay are pushing back against the idea that the region is anyone's backyard. China says its engagement with Latin America is guided by respect, non-interference, and mutually beneficial cooperation – not spheres of influence. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed that this position will not change, even as global dynamics continue to shift. In a multipolar world, lasting partnerships are built on equality and shared development, not power politics. Sun Tianyuan, CGTN, Beijing.