MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina and Brazil ‘fear’ a greater integration with China, says Mujica

The Uruguayan president with Chinese top officials

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica currently in Beijing on an official visit, underlined the significance of China in trade and investments fro South America, but also admitted there is some ‘fear’ mainly from Argentina and Brazil about a greater integration and dependency from the Asian giant.

“China is most important for South America, and not only for Uruguay, but also for Argentina and Brazil but they fear China because of this country’s productivity, the fact it sells cheaply and they are afraid their domestic industrial production lines could be impaired”, said Mujica.

For that “we need to develop complementation of those production lines in manufacturing, if we are to make long term agreements. We need added value to our production of commodities”, insisted Mujica, who arrived in China last Saturday and Tuesday leaves for Spain.

Addressing a business forum at the city of Tianjin, Mujica said that “growth will only come if we manage to increasingly exchange added value. Selling commodities in the long term is not sustainable, not even for China, we must incorporate added valued”.

Mujica and a delegation of ministers and top officials have been in China for a three-day visit where they met the Beijing regime top officials including President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and the president of the National Popular Assembly, Zhang Dejiang.

Mujica’s visit main purpose is to interest China in helping develop infrastructure projects in Uruguay such as a deep-water port on the Atlantic; deepening and dredging River Plate access channels; revamping the dilapidated railway system and alternative energy projects.

In the city of Tianjin Mujica and the Uruguayan delegation were hosted by China Railway Materials who are the suppliers of the Chinese system and were later invited to meet with representatives from China Communications Construction Company and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, both linked to the construction of major infrastructure projects and port terminals.

The delegation did most of the business talks in Tianjin, which is China’s main northern port because the city has a collaboration agreements signed with Montevideo several years ago.

Mujica also revealed that he had first visited China over fifty years ago and congratulated the Chinese government and people for their achievements making the country a leading trade and economic world power. At the time China was ruled by chairman Mao Tse Tung, and Mujica was an incipient urban guerrilla, great admirer of the Chinese model of the time.

In Spain Mujica is scheduled to meet King Juan Carlos, President Mariano Rajoy and participate in several business forums with leading Spanish corporations and financial institutions. From Spain, Mujica flies to Rome where he is scheduled to have lunch with Pope Francis.