BEIJING -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a video speech to the 24th General Assembly of Latin American Academy of Social Sciences on Friday.

China attaches great importance to cooperation with Latin American Academy of Social Sciences. Today, China officially became an observer country of Latin American Academy of Social Sciences, Wang noted.

Wang said China is willing to take this opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Latin American Academy of Social Sciences, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between China and Latin America, and contribute more wisdom and strength to the sustainable development of China and Latin America.

Facing the changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, China and Latin American and Caribbean countries have supported each other and worked together to overcome difficulties, bringing China-Latin America relations characterized by equality, mutual benefit, innovation, opening-up, and benefit for the people into a new era, he said.

Not long ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, charting the course for safeguarding world peace and security and promoting sustainable development.

China is ready to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to jointly safeguard peace and stability, promote economic recovery, improve people's well-being and advance the joint building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future, Wang said.

Latin American Academy of Social Sciences is a regional intergovernmental organization initiated by UNESCO and one of the three major social science teaching and research institutions in Latin America. The conference, held in Ecuador, voted to admit China as an observer state.