Global Times.
China and Latin America's
influence will deepen if they can work as a bloc, visiting Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos said Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with Chinese President
Hu Jintao, Santos said that President Hu expressed the intention of
strengthening relations with Colombia, particularly in a newly formed
Pacific alliance.
"We have identified as a country that is located in a strategic
geographic place," he said. "This visit will give us a point of change
in our relationship with China."
Ahead of his visit to China, Santos said that he hopes Colombia can
expand cooperation with China in all fields and become an "important
ally" of China in Latin America.
"We had meetings with most important Chinese companies in
agricultural development and the oil and energy sectors. We also had a
meeting on specific investment in terms of a pipeline that will go from
Venezuela to the Pacific, across the whole country," Santos said.
He added that railway investment projects are also being considered.
Santos described his visit to China as very successful so far, and
the agreements they have signed already represent big achievements,
including one between Chinese petrochemical firm Sinochem and the China
Development Bank and Colombia's oil giant Ecopetrol to look into helping
build the pipeline, AFP reported.
"We also signed an agreement of cooperation in agriculture," Santos
said, "The intention of starting a process to negotiate a Free Trade
Agreement with China is very important."
He hinted that coordination to grant access to the Chinese market for products such as meat has also begun.
At the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Santos started his
five-day state visit to China Tuesday as part of a larger trade mission
seeking to expand Colombian trade and political ties with Asian nations.
