China ready to work with Peru to promote bilateral ties to new heights: Xi

China is ready to work with Peru to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries onto new heights, visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday when holding talks with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru.

Xi arrived in the Peruvian capital earlier in the day to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, and pay a state visit to the Latin American country at the invitation of Boluarte.

In the talks with Boluarte, Xi said that the China-Peru relationship has maintained sound growth momentum over the past 53 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, especially after his first state visit to Peru in 2016.

Through joint efforts of both sides, China-Peru bilateral trade has expanded by 1.6 times, with the stock of Chinese enterprises' investment in Peru doubled, and the upgrading of the free trade agreement between the two countries completed, which have all brought tangible benefits to the people of the two countries, Xi recalled.

"China values the traditional friendship with Peru, appreciates the Peruvian Congress' decision to designate February 1 as the 'Peru-China Fraternity Day', and is optimistic about the broad prospects for cooperation between the two sides. China is willing to work together with Peru to promote the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership onto new heights, in order to better benefit the people of the two countries. During this visit, I will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Chancay Port via video together with Madam President. This is another successful project in Belt and Road cooperation between China and Peru," Xi said.

"China is ready to join hands with Peru to build a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America with the Chancay Port as a starting point, in order to connect the Inca Trail with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and open up a road to common prosperity and happiness for Peru and other Latin American and Caribbean countries," he said.

The 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Lima on Friday and Saturday.

China ready to work with Peru to promote bilateral ties to new heights: Xi

China ready to work with Peru to promote bilateral ties to new heights: Xi

China ready to work with Peru to promote bilateral ties to new heights: Xi

Consumption continued to heat up during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday from Friday to Sunday, as China's consumer goods trade-in programs have gained traction, and its diversified cultural offerings have stimulated new spending needs. At a car dealership in Wuhan City of central China's Hubei Province, consumers are keen to test drive a new energy vehicle with outstanding battery life as the province has beefed up its support for electric car purchase.

"The maximum subsidy for replacing a used car is 44,000 yuan (about 6,000 U.S. dollars), which is quite attractive to me," said a consumer surnamed Wan. In Shanghai, the Bingang shopping mall started trial operation during the holiday and provides citizens and tourists with a wide range of entertainment experiences by empowering more than a dozen performing arts and entertainment spaces of different sizes with high technology.

"We have introduced more than 20 different types of pan-entertainment experiences. We hope to create a destination for cultural entertainment-induced consumption by gathering different types of entertainment," said Wu Jiuying, marketing manager of the Shanghai Bingang shopping mall.

The Qingming Festival holiday has also given a boost to the domestic box office, with dozens of films released.

As of 21:00 on Sunday, China's total box office revenue for the three-day holiday had surpassed 377 million yuan (approximately 51.5 million U.S. dollars), according to data from online platforms.

The U.S. produced film "A Minecraft Movie", Chinese crime thriller "We Girls", animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2", crime drama "Mumu" and police action movie "Fox Hunt" are currently ranked as the top five.

April 4 marked this year's Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival for people to pay tribute to the deceased and to worship their ancestors. Increasing numbers of people nowadays also use the holiday as an occasion to make spring outing and enjoy leisure entertainment.

China sees strong spike in Qingming Festival spending