Speaking today in Beijing at the Third Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation, Argentine President Alberto Fernández took the opportunity to extend his sincere thanks to President Xi Jinping for having always been a steadfast partner and ally to Argentina, especially during some of the most difficult times—of pandemic, the [Ukraine] war, and fights with the IMF.
It was with the support and agreement of the Chinese government, Fernández pointed out, “that we have been able to join the BRICS, a group of nations that proposes to rethink global relations, discarding hegemonism and respecting multilateralism.” There was no hesitation in Fernández’s remark, even though two presidential candidates back home—madman Libertarian Javier Milei and neoliberal Patricia Bullrich—have both said that, if elected, they won’t allow Argentina to join the BRICS. Fernández in fact said that he welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal “to work in the BRICS and improve the communication among our countries.”
In the 50 years of diplomatic relations, the Argentine President said, China has been “a key partner … but also a brother, who helped us during the pandemic, who bailed us out financially when the International Monetary Fund’s pressures put us in check, who invested in our country, creating jobs for Argentines.” In the context now of the joint cooperation program in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Argentina looks forward to moving ahead with an ambitious program of strategic infrastructure building, and many more projects with Chinese investments, he said.
“We have worked with China shoulder to shoulder,” Fernández concluded, and are so thankful for the solidarity of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people. “An old African proverb teaches us that if you want to get somewhere quickly, walk alone, but if you want to go farther, walk with others who will join you. At this very difficult time, let’s walk together and shorten the distance that separates us from that socially more just world that we all desire.”
