Chinese President Xi Jinping has been on busy visit schedules after arriving in Peru's capital Lima on Thursday, which marks his third visit to the country and the third time he had met with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in a year.
Xi arrived in Lima earlier Thursday to pay a state visit to Peru and to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
When Xi arrived at the Callao Air Base in Lima, he was warmly welcomed by Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen and other senior officials. A Peruvian student expressed warm welcome to Xi in Chinese. The guard of honor lined up on both sides of the red carpet to salute.
In a written statement upon his arrival, Xi said it gives him great pleasure to once again pay a state visit to the Republic of Peru and attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the invitation of President Boluarte, adding that he feels very close to Peru as he again stepped onto this beautiful and rich land with a long history.
On behalf of the Chinese government and people, Xi extended his sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Peru.
On Xi's way from the airport to the hotel, representatives of overseas Chinese, Chinese institutions, Chinese students, as well as local people lined the road to greet him. They waved national flags of China and Peru, and performed dragon and lion dances to warmly welcome the Chinese president for his visit.
In the afternoon, Xi attended a grand welcome ceremony hosted by Boluarte in Lima.
After his motorcade arrived at the Government Palace, the official residence of the president of Peru, Xi was warmly greeted by Boluarte.
The two heads of state reviewed the guard of honor at the welcome ceremony.
In the talks with Boluarte, Xi said that China and Peru have advanced with the trend of the times, and upheld equality, mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual learning.
China and Peru should align development strategies, and further tap the potential for cooperation, to open up new prospects for pragmatic cooperation, Xi said.
"I was strongly touched by the Peruvian people's friendship with the Chinese people and felt warm in my heart as soon as I set foot on the beautiful land of Peru. Both China and Peru are ancient civilizations. The profound accumulation of ancient civilizations has endowed China and Peru with wisdom and broad-mindedness and enabled us to see clearly the direction of history, follow the trend of the times, and persevere in treating each other as equals and pursuing mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual learning, thus setting a good example of solidarity and cooperation between countries with different sizes, systems and cultures," said Xi.
For her part, President Boluarte noted that China has long been Peru's most important trading partner, especially after the two countries started the Belt and Road cooperation.
China-Peru cooperation has yielded fruitful results across various sectors, fully demonstrating both countries' firm commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation and shared development, she said.
Later in the day, Xi and Boluarte attended the opening ceremony of the Chancay Port via video link.
The two heads of state listened to reports from the heads of transportation departments of both countries and watched a video presentation on the Chancay Port project. Representatives from both China and Peru at the project site reported to the two leaders, requesting authorization to commence port operations.
The two heads of state gave the order, announcing the opening of the port.
"Let's work together, meet with the wider world from here at the Chancay Port, and steer the vessel of China-Peru friendship toward a better future," said Xi at the opening ceremony.
"The inauguration of the Chancay megaport constitutes a historic moment for Peru and for all Peruvians," said Boluarte.
The Chancay Port is located in the Chancay Bay, about 80 kilometers north of Peru's capital Lima. It is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative and the first smart port in South America. Once completed, it will become a new hub port in Latin America and a gateway port to the Pacific.
After attending the APEC meeting and completing his state visit to Peru, Xi will travel to Rio de Janeiro to attend the 19th G20 Summit and pay a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from Nov 17 to 21.
Xi on busy visit schedules in Peru
