STORY: Argentine president on Belt and Road cooperation
DATELINE: Oct. 15, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:40
LOCATION: Buenos Aires
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Buenos Aires
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, Argentine President
3. various of Buenos Aires
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, Argentine President

STORYLINE:

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said he is looking forward to all partner countries of the Belt and Road Initiative moving forward together.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Argentina officially joined the BRI early last year.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, Argentine President
"We are highly convinced that the relationship with China is very important.
When we signed up to the BRI, we did so with the idea of having a deeper, more strategic agreement with China. And I go with the expectation of seeing how we move forward in that sense with the rest of the members, all the signatories, all the countries that have joined the BRI."

Fernandez said joining the Belt and Road Initiative is beneficial for promoting deeper bilateral ties, and increasing mutual investments and trade.

He said China is a real investor in Argentina, with long-term investments that create jobs and share fruits of development.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, Argentine President
"China is a partner that deserves all the praise from Argentina. It is a partner that helps Argentina. I want us to continue to deepen our relationship. We have a lot to do together as partners. So I hope that this decade of partnership will continue for many decades to come."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Buenos Aires.
(XHTV)