Premier Li Keqiang is welcomed and received by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the presidential palace in Bogota. (Photo : www.news.xinhuanet.com)
The recent visit of Premier Li Keqiang to Colombia has produced positive results, as the two countries pledged to expand cooperation in a range of areas that include equipment manufacturing, production capacity and infrastructure construction to further improve economic ties.
The Global Times reported that the Chinese Premier met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the presidential palace in Bogota, the first time in three decades that a Chinese leader has visited the Latin American country.
The two leaders signed a series of bilateral cooperation deals in areas including agriculture, trade, culture, education, finance, infrastructure construction, production capacity, and science and technology.
Li said that the two countries have pledged to set up iron and steel plants in Colombia to produce construction materials and engineering equipment which will help lower production cost and provide jobs for local communities.
The two countries are also considering launching the China-Colombia bilateral free trade agreement to help the two countries avoid double taxation.
Santos said that Li's current visit is a landmark in the development of Sino-Colombian relations, which marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The premier's visit to Colombia is part of a four-nation Latin American tour, after which he is next scheduled to visit Peru and Chile.
Yang Zhimin, a research fellow with the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Columbia's policy in agriculture, infrastructure, mineral production, construction, and manufacturing as the main growth engines matches the cooperation map of the Chinese government.
The report said that China is now the second largest trade partner of Columbia. Last year, the bilateral trade volume reached $15.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 49.8 percent. Columbia is China's fifth largest trade partner in Latin America.
Li said that the Chinese government will encourage enterprises to join in the infrastructure construction in Colombia, as China will focus on developing the cooperation in production capacity and equipment manufacturing with Colombia.
Li added that China is willing to enhance political cooperation based on mutual trust and help expand people-to-people exchanges.
