Young soccer players from Shigatse in the Xizang autonomous region will travel to Argentina for training this September under a new cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening youth soccer development and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The letter of intent was signed by the Shigatse education and sports bureau, the city of Cerrillos in Argentina's Salta province and Xizang Zhufeng Resources Co during the fifth China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation, which concluded on Saturday in Nyingchi. Details of the soccer partnership were reported by Xizang Daily on Sunday.

Under the agreement, the three parties will establish regular cooperation in youth soccer training, friendly matches, coaching education, sports research and cultural exchanges.

The initiative seeks to draw on Argentina's internationally recognized youth soccer development system while exploring new approaches to sports training in high-altitude regions.

The partnership builds on exchanges launched in May 2025, when a youth soccer team from Argentina visited Shigatse and played a friendly match with a local team. The match, held at an altitude of about 3,800 meters, marked the first soccer exchange between the two high-altitude regions.

"The partnership will help us make better use of our plateau sports resources, improve youth sports development and expand international sports exchanges," Li Xiaobo, director of the Shigatse education and sports bureau, told China Xizang Online.

He said the city also aims to cultivate more signature plateau sporting events and strengthen its role as a hub for international sports exchanges.

Mao Yuankai, vice-chairman and president of Xizang Zhufeng Resources Co, said Xizang and Argentina's Salta province share similar high-altitude environments, giving the two regions common strengths in sports development.

He said the company hopes to use soccer as a bridge to support youth training, endurance sports exchanges and sports science cooperation, while deepening broader collaboration in sports, education and culture.

The company, which has been developing its mining projects in Argentina, said it also hopes to promote closer people-to-people ties alongside its economic cooperation.

The soccer partnership was one of nine major cooperation outcomes achieved at the three-day forum, which brought together more than 350 participants from 29 countries and regions to discuss climate change, ecological security, sports cooperation and green development in high-altitude regions.

Other agreements reached during the forum covered satellite data applications, ecological protection, public health and agricultural research.

China's Ministry of Natural Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyrgyzstan on satellite data applications for land management, cross-border disaster monitoring and ecological conservation, while a high-altitude disease prevention information network was launched to facilitate remote medical consultations.

Looking ahead, Li said Shigatse will use the new partnership as a platform to strengthen youth sports development, cultivate more signature plateau sporting events and expand international exchanges, with the goal of becoming a leading hub for sports cooperation in high-altitude regions.