On July 19 local time, President Xi Jinping, who was on a state visit to Argentina, visited the Republic Farm, investigating Argentina's agriculture and animal husbandry and gained understanding of the cultural features of Argentine farmers and herdsmen.
At noon, accompanied by Julián Domínguez, President of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, Xi Jinping and his delegation came in cars to the Republic Farm, 70 kilometers away from Buenos Aires. South America's nomadic people Gaucho's caravan greeted them at the gate, and the horsemen holding the national flags of China and Argentina led the car fleet into the Farm with the local traditional ceremony.
With bright sunshine, luxuriant vegetation, and herds of cattle and sheep, beautiful idyllic scenery of South America was presented in front of the people. The locals sang and danced to welcome the distinguished guests from China.
Xi Jinping was warmly received by Moneta, the owner of the Farm, and his family. Moneta introduced to Xi Jinping that the Farm has cultivated multiple fine species of horses and beef cattle with almost ten thousand raised livestock. Xi Jinping listened and asked them in detail about the rearing and breeding of the livestock and the operation of the Farm. Xi Jinping pointed out that Argentina is a major country of agriculture and animal husbandry with a high level of agricultural modernization and science and technology. China is also a major agricultural country. Feeding well a population of over 1.3 billion is a precondition for China's development. China places great emphasis on agriculture and sticks to relying on domestic production to guarantee grain self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, China actively makes use of the international market and participates in international cooperation to regulate agricultural supplies and sideline products. China is willing to strengthen agricultural cooperation and expand agricultural product trade with Argentina.
Julián Domínguez introduced to Xi Jinping the olive oil and wine produced in Argentina. He said that China is the biggest export market of Argentina's agricultural products and the two countries enjoy a huge potential for agricultural cooperation. He hopes that Argentine products will be favored by more Chinese consumers.
Xi Jinping walked into the farmers' houses and learnt about their lives. He also wished them a happy family, and hoped them visit China more often. The youngest son of Moneta told Xi Jinping that he likes China and plans to learn Chinese. Xi Jinping said that he hopes they can talk with each other in Chinese next time they meet.
The host arranged fantastic shows with farmhouse features. With horses galloping and flags flying, the performances like horsemanship by Gauchos, singing and dancing by Indians and Argentine tango vividly showed the unique and diversified culture of Argentina---the Country on Horseback, the industriousness and courage of the Argentine people and their life-loving spirit. The riders rode across the open grassland, waving the national flags of the two countries and cheering for the China-Argentina friendship.
Xi Jinping bade farewell to Julián Domínguez and the Moneta family as he was about to leave the Farm. Xi Jinping said that the Republic Farm is a miniature of agriculture and animal husbandry and traditional rural culture in Argentina. Through the visit, I have learned more about the country, and I will bring back the deep friendship from the Argentine people to the Chinese people. I hope that China and Argentina will achieve more fruits in practical agricultural cooperation.
Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Yang Jiechi and others were present at the above events.