BEIJING, Jan. 29 -- China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang held talks with Chilean Senate President Andres Zaldivar on Monday, and both sides agreed to boost parliamentary exchanges and make concerted efforts to push forward bilateral ties.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said he regarded Chile as China's important partner in the Latin America and Asian-Pacific region.
China is Chile's largest trading partner, Zhang said, noting that both sides have expanded cooperation in various fields and have close coordination in multilateral affairs.
"China attaches great importance to its ties with Chile," Zhang said, calling on the two sides to "implement the consensus reached by their leaders and promote their comprehensive strategic partnership."
Zhang said Chile was the first country in Latin America to set up an exchange mechanism between parliaments with China, and China's NPC attaches great importance to its friendly exchanges with Chile's parliament.
Zhang called on both sides to support each other on their core interests and their own development paths.
He called for a better investment environment and sound legal system for the companies and investors from the two countries.
Zhang also expressed his hope that China and Chile would communicate more on and share more experience in governance.
Zaldivar said he witnessed China's huge changes since China's reform and opening up by visiting China many times.
"Chile attaches great importance to its relations with China and will participate in the Belt and Road construction," he said, noting that Chile would coordinate more with China in international affairs.
He said Chile's parliament was willing to increase exchanges with China's NPC to promote bilateral ties, and he also reaffirmed Chile will always adhere to the one-China policy.