????President Xi Jinping’s announcement that China is to cut troop numbers by 300,000 “delivers a strong message of peace,” Vice President of Argentina Amado Boudou told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Sept. 4.

????Boudou made the comment after attending the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War a day earlier.

????Boudou watched the military parade from the Tian’anmen rostrum, and was impressed. “The parade has demonstrated that China, as a world power, occupies an important position in the international arena,” he said.

????The parade not only showcased China’s military power, but sent a peaceful message to the world, according to Boudou. He stressed that President Xi’s speech and the announcement of the force cuts showed “China’s objective is to maintain world peace”.

????Boudou said more people were recognizing China’s contribution to victory in the Second World War, which was underestimated in the Western world, as China suffered 35 million casualties in the cause of peace and liberation.

????Some countries had expressed concerns over China’s military building, but Boudou pointed out that China had always been a peace-loving and non-hegemonic nation. “If we look at the number of wars China joined in the last half century, we can see that those accusing China were involved in a lot more of wars.”

????Boudou stressed that maintenance of peace lay in equality and development among and within nations. “China is an important powerhouse of the world economy, while Argentina is a major contributor to global food security,” he said. “Cooperation between the two can push international order to progress in a peaceful direction.”

????Argentina and China had built a comprehensive strategic partnership since 2014, Boudou said. Cooperation in various fields was underway, including hydro-power projects and several cultural exchange programs. The two countries particularly shared a consensus on coping with the global financial crisis, which was conducive to deepening bilateral cooperation.

????The People’s Bank of China had recently launched a fund of 10 billion U.S. dollars to promote capacity investment and cooperation between China and Latin America, which Boudou welcomed. He indicated that Latin American countries lagged in infrastructure investment, while China provided a new source of finance for those countries. He said Argentina was willing to be a bridge for China to enter the Latin American market.

????A general election was to be held in his country in October, but Boudou said the result would not affect the firm bilateral relations as the two countries complemented each other in trade and international affairs.

????“In the future, technical cooperation and exchanges are the key, which conforms to the global trend. For Latin American countries, China is undoubtedly one of the best and most important partners in this field,” Boudou said.