China and Uruguay should should work together to advance an "equal and orderly multipolar world", President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Yamandu Orsi on Tuesday (3 February).

Orsi’s visit is the first by a South American leader to Beijing since events in Venezuela in January, when the United States carried out an operation that led to the capture of then President Nicolás Maduro.

The meeting comes in the wake of a flurry of visits to China by Western leaders this year, from Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

Orsi said his visit aimed to "empower Uruguay in the world and generate opportunities, investment and development" in a Facebook comment on Sunday (1 Februrary), following his arrival in Beijing.

He is leading a delegation of 150, including business leaders, on a visit that runs until 7 February, which will also take in the commercial capital of Shanghai.

The timing is symbolically important for China, said Francisco Urdinez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

"For Beijing, hosting Orsi ... signals that South American countries remain eager to engage, despite the increasingly polarised geopolitical environment," Urdinez said.

China was the top destination for Uruguayan exports in 2025, taking agricultural products from wood pulp to soybeans and beef. Uruguay ran a trade surplus of $187.1 million with China in the first half of 2025.

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The South American nation imports machinery, electronics and chemicals from China.

Agreements signed, deeper cooperation pledged

China and Uruguay signed a joint declaration to deepen a strategic partnership on Tuesday as well as 12 cooperation documents covering science, technology, environmental cooperation, exports and imports of meat and intellectual property.

Orsi said Uruguay would like to intensify "trade in goods, especially through diversification, and to invest much more strongly in the area of ​​trade in services and investment," according to the pool report.

Both countries strategic partnership "is going through its best moment," he said, adding that it was the responsibility of both countries to "commit to raising it to a new level."

Traditional export sectors such as meat and soy have played a central role in the relationship.

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China Uruguay Xi Jinping China tariffs Global Diplomacy Trade Cooperation latin america Global trade Yamandu Orsi