Representatives from China and Venezuela have agreed Tuesday to boost trade and economic cooperation between the two countries during a business and trade forum held at Maracay, Venezuela.
Members of the government and the private sector from China's Shandong Province and Venezuela's state of Aragua gathered in the state's capital to attend the Expo Aragua Potencia Internacional.
According to Venezuelan Minister of Industries Jose David Cabello's Twitter feed, the agreement between the two countries seek to strengthen trade relations that would promote agricultural products from Aragua to Shandong. He said that all this will be made possible through the network of contacts that will be developed during the forum.
Cabello added that about 28 Chinese business people who are leaders in their respective fields will be at the forum to explore trade opportunities with their Araguan counterparts.
Tareck El Aissami, Aragua's governor, addressed the expo participants and said that representatives from both sides "are at the forefront of a new model of strategic cooperation between the two nations." El Aissami's address was televised.
However, this is not the first time Chinese representatives visited Aragua. According to Ji Xianggi, Shandong's deputy governor, the ties between the coastal province and Aragua strengthened when Hugo Chavez became president and started trade relations with China.
Ji said that he is confident that the business forum would promote partnerships and pointed out Shandong's textile market to be a good business space for Venezuela.
Since 1999, China and Venezuela have been substantially cooperating economically. So far, the two countries' trade surpassed $20 billion in 2013.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Venezuela last July, he and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have agreed to upgrade the two countries' bilateral ties into a more comprehensive strategic relation.