Promote the strategic partnership between China and Bolivia to a new level (Ambassador's essay)

  Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 40 years ago, China Bolivia relations have withstood the test of international changes and maintained a good momentum of development. Political mutual trust has become increasingly stable, and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has been continuously promoted, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both sides.

  As good friends and brothers, China and Bolivia have always been looking forward to working together and forging ahead, leaving memorable moments in the history of bilateral relations: the first Confucius Institute in Bolivia was established in 2011, the first communication satellite "Tupac Katari" that China helped Bolivia develop was successfully launched in 2013, China and Bolivia established a strategic partnership in 2018 and signed a cooperation document to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", and China will become Bolivia's largest trading partner in 2023... Bolivian people from all walks of life spoke highly of the fruitful results of bilateral relations, and agreed that deepening cooperation with China will bring more and more development opportunities to Bolivia.

Sincere treatment and mutual assistance lay an important foundation for the steady progress of China Bolivia relations. Although the two countries are far apart in terms of national size, people's sentiments, and systems, they have always respected and trusted each other, firmly supported each other on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, and continuously strengthened cultural exchanges, mutual learning of civilizations, and enhanced mutual understanding and people to people communication. China supports Bolivia in exploring a development path that is in line with its own national conditions. Bolivia cherishes the brotherly friendship with China and sincerely hopes to consolidate and strengthen the relationship between Bolivia and China.

Complementary advantages and win-win cooperation help China and Bolivia achieve common development and prosperity. China's economy has maintained long-term stable growth, with a large market size, a complete industrial chain, extensive application of technological innovation, and open and inclusive policies; Bolivia has diverse geographical conditions and abundant natural resources, with great potential for endogenous growth and development. The pragmatic cooperation between the two countries is mutually beneficial and has enormous potential. The bilateral trade volume has increased from 880000 US dollars in 1985 to over 2.7 billion US dollars in 2024. At present, China and Bolivia are facing the common task of realizing modernization, and there is a broad prospect for both sides to promote high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". The Chinese side welcomes Bolivia to make good use of platforms such as the China International Import Expo, promote more high-quality and distinctive products, and is willing to strengthen policy communication and coordination with Bolivia to expand cooperation in infrastructure construction, plateau agriculture, green development, digital economy and other fields.

Unity and cooperation, working hand in hand to shoulder responsibilities, continuously deepen the cohesion of strategic cooperation between China and Bolivia. Both countries are multi-ethnic nations with splendid civilizations and have had experiences of resisting colonial oppression. Faced with the accelerated evolution of the century old changes, China and Bolivia have always adhered to independence and self-reliance, maintained close communication and cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and BRICS countries, jointly practiced multilateralism, safeguarded international fairness and justice, resolutely opposed hegemonism and unilateral bullying, and promoted the development of global governance towards a more just and reasonable direction. China supports the integration construction of Latin America and is willing to work with Bolivia to strengthen the mechanism construction of the China Latin America Forum, jointly implement the "Five Major Projects" of building a community with a shared future between China and Latin America, and promote the unity, self-improvement, and common development of countries in the global South.

The 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bolivia coincides with the 200th anniversary of Bolivia's independence. Both China and Bolivia have a motto: "Unity is strength." Standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to work with the Bolivian side to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, continue traditional friendship, deepen strategic mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, promote the China Bolivia strategic partnership to a new level, help their respective countries to modernize, and better benefit the two peoples.

(Author: Wang Liang, the author is the Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia)