Wen arrives in Rio de Janeiro

China attaches great importance to the Rio+20 summit and calls for political will and wisdom to achieve new progress in sustainable development.

During the conference, Wen will deliver a speech to elaborate on China's policies on sustainable development and urge the international community to enhance cooperation. He will meet with leaders attending the conference to exchange views, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters prior to Wen's departure.

The June 20-22 Rio+20 summit, the largest UN conference ever to be held in Rio de Janeiro, will bring together leaders from more than 190 nations who are expected to reach a series of political agreements on improving people's living standard and protecting the environment.

After the summit, Wen is scheduled to pay official visits to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. A host of pragmatic cooperation agreements are expected to be signed during the tour.

Wen would meet with leaders of the four nations to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues of common concern. He would also deliver a speech in Chile at the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu said.

Liu said Wen's visits will further deepen relations between China and the four countries, and consolidate partnership between China and Latin America.

Bilateral trade between China and Latin America recorded a sharp increase to $241.5 billion in 2011.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Wednesday afternoon to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 summit). [Photo/Xinhua]