China and Uruguay vowed to deepen their friendship and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, as their foreign ministers met in Beijing on Monday ahead of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum.

During his meeting with visiting Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said bilateral relations are an exemplary model of relations between countries of different sizes.

Wang said China hopes to work with Uruguay to deepen their high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen political mutual trust, boost mutually beneficial cooperation and collaborate more closely on multilateral occasions.

China will work with countries of the Global South to uphold multilateralism and free trade, Wang said.

It also supports Latin American and Caribbean countries in enhancing unity and taking control of their own destiny, and hopes to work with Uruguay to enable the ministerial meeting to yield more outcomes, Wang said.

Lubetkin said Uruguay and China, though far from each other and different in size, have always respected, understood and trusted each other.

It is a political consensus that transcends party lines in Uruguay to develop relations with China, Lubetkin said, adding that Uruguay supports free trade, and will participate actively in the Belt and Road cooperation.

The upcoming ministerial meeting will have a historic significance, Lubetkin said, expressing his appreciation to China's support for the integration of Latin America.