Sergio Fausto Cabrera Cárdenas, ambassador of Colombia to China, gives opening remarks at the National Day reception in Beijing on July 17, 2026. Photo: Dong Feng/GT

The Embassy of the Republic of Colombia in China hosted a National Day reception on July 17 in Beijing to celebrate the 216th anniversary of Independence Day of the Republic of Colombia. 

Sergio Fausto Cabrera Cárdenas, ambassador of Colombia to China, told the Global Times that Colombia's signing of the cooperation plan for the joint construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has opened up new opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation.

In his opening speech at the reception, Ambassador Cabrera said that a country's history is not written solely within its borders. It is also built on the bridges it extends to other peoples and the friendships it cultivates over time, he said. 

The relationship between Colombia and China is one of those bridges. It is a bond built with patience, trust, and the conviction that two different countries can find multiple ways to get to know each other, respect each other, and work together, he said. 

Cabrera told the reception participants a personal story. He lived in China and attended a local school in the early 1960s. He was 13 and there were very few foreigners and no international schools in China yet. He learned to understand and deeply appreciate another culture without giving up his own identity. To him, this is the true spirit of Colombia-China friendship.

In his view, the principle has, in a way, guided the relationship between Colombia and China.

Over 46 years of diplomatic relations, Colombia and China have built a relationship that is increasingly broad, diverse, and solid. 

"In recent years, that [bilateral] relationship has reached a new stage with the strategic partnership between our countries - one that, far from being merely a diplomatic label, represents the recognition of trust built over decades and a shared decision to expand the scope of our cooperation," the ambassador noted. 

China and Colombia signed a cooperation plan between the two governments in mid-May 2025 on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, marking the Latin American country's entry into the family of countries working together to build a high-quality BRI.

The move has opened up new opportunities to deepen our collaboration in areas such as agriculture, connectivity, sustainable development, innovation, infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Cabrera told the Global Times, noting he is confident that this relationship will continue to grow for many years to come.

Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese Government on Latin American Affairs, gives a speech at the reception in Beijing on July 17, 2026. Photo: Dong Feng/GT

Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese Government on Latin American Affairs, said in his speech that Colombia is the birthplace of the Latin American independence movement. In recent years, the Colombian government and people have explored a development path suited to their national conditions, achieving positive results in economic and social development, which has enhanced their international standing and influence, he said. 

China and Colombia are good partners committed to win-win cooperation. Over the 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Colombia relations have withstood the test of shifting international circumstances and have consistently maintained a positive momentum of development, Qiu said. 

In October 2023, the two heads of state announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

Qiu affirmed that the bilateral relations have achieved leapfrog development. 

In 2025, China-Colombia trade volume exceeded $23 billion. Colombian products such as Tahiti lemons and bananas were successively approved for export to China, and exports of products including beef to China saw growth, he noted. 

Moreover, construction has commenced on the entire length of Colombia's first electrified railway and the Western Tram Project, both undertaken by Chinese enterprises. Progress on the construction of Line 1 of the Bogotá Metro has exceeded 80 percent, bringing the people of Bogotá one step closer to realizing their "metro dream," Qiu said. 

China-Colombia cooperation under the BRI has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries. 

China welcomes Colombia's continued use of the BRI as a platform to share in China's opportunities and achieve its own development. "We are willing to continue encouraging capable and willing Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Colombia, to facilitate the entry of more high-quality Colombian products into the Chinese market, and to see more exemplary cooperative projects take root in Colombia," Qiu said. 

Next month, Colombia's new government will take office. "We are willing to work together with the Colombian side to elevate the strategic partnership between our two countries to new heights," Qiu concluded.