Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visit to Peru is of milestone significance in bilateral ties, Chinese Ambassador to Peru Jia Guide wrote in an article published in the People’s Daily on Monday, before Xi kicked off his tour.

During his Peruvian trip, Xi is also scheduled to attend the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in capital Lima.

“It is believed that the two ancient civilizations, respectively located on the east and west coast of the Pacific Ocean, will write a new chapter of friendship under the political guidance of the two heads of state,” Jia added.

With ancient civilizations, abundant resources and diversified and inclusive culture, Peru enjoys a long-standing friendship with China, the ambassador said, citing the remarks of former Peruvian President Alan Garcia and incumbent President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Garcia once praised China's social and economic reforms as one of the two major progresses of the late 20th century in world, together with globalization, while Kuczynski hailed the importance of China's development to the future of the world. Kuczynski also chose China as the destination of his first overseas visit after assuming office, which reflects the sound development of bilateral ties.

Jia further elaborated that as a reflection of China-Peru friendship, the number of ethnic Chinese people living in Peru has increased to 10 percent of the country’s population, since they first set foot on this Latin American country in 1849.

Over 10,000 restaurants offering Chinese cuisine in Peru not only light up Peruvian catering industry, but represent a fusion of two cultures, the diplomat added in the article.

Jia lauded the fruits reaped from bilateral ties since the two countries established diplomatic relationship 45 years ago, citing the frequent high-level exchanges, deepening mutual political trust, increasing trade and investment, improving cooperation mechanisms, mutual support in multilateral fields, and enhanced cultural exchanges.

Peru is the only Latin American nation that has established a comprehensive strategic partnership, and at the same time, has inked a comprehensive free trade agreement with China, underlined the ambassador.

With an investment of more than $14 billion in Peru, China is also the country's largest trading partner, export destination and source of imports, he stressed, adding that more than 170 Chinese enterprises have invested and developed business on Peru’s soil.

China's mobile phones, automobiles and engineering machines are popular in the Peruvian market, while the avocados, grapes and alpaca products from Peru are also favored by Chinese customers, Jia further explained.

In the article, Jia also affirmed China’s appreciation of the theme of this year’s APEC meeting, namely Quality Growth and Human Development, saying that it has common ground with China's 13th Five-Year Plan to promote economic transformation and upgrade.

China and Peru share a consensus in facilitating regional economic integration, building Asia-Pacific free trade zone, advancing trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, opposing protectionism, and pushing forward economic globalization and inclusive development, the diplomat emphasized.

China will work with other regional partners to build an open and interconnected Asia-Pacific economy featuring innovation-driven development and integration of interests, he said.

According to him, the exchange of visits between the two heads of state in two months, which is rare in the world, reflects the close relationship between the two countries and their firm will to bolster their ties.

The converging points shared by China and Peru in their development goals and internal demands provide them with unprecedented opportunities to deepen cooperation, said Jia. He illustrated that Peru is determined to realize modernization before 2021, the bicentennial of the country's independence, while China also aims to achieve its first centenary goal in 2021, also the centenary of the founding of the CPC.

In addition, as Peru is working to diversify its industries and accelerate industrialization and China needs to export its production capacity, the two nations, standing at a critical stage of economic transition, will embrace the vast opportunities in cooperation on infrastructure, resource, mining and manufacturing, Jia concluded.