MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

High official Chinese visit to Latinamerica and Caribbean

Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong travelled Sunday to Mexico, the first leg of a Latin American tour that will take him to Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, where he is slated to attend the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum 2005, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Mr. Zeng's tour of Latin America is scheduled to end February 3. The vice president is accompanied by a large delegation on his trip to the region including Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Zhou Wenzhong, Deputy Finance Minister Li Yong and Deputy Trade Minister Ma Xiuhong.

Mr. Zeng's visit, although it officially comes in response to an invitation from the governments of Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, is part of a larger Chinese effort in the region which Beijing views as fertile ground for its ever expanding economy.

Last November Chinese President Hu Jintao went on a two-week tour of Latin America with stops in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Cuba.

The focus of the trip of Mr. Hu Jintao and 300 businesses was to expand economic and trade ties with Brazil, Argentina and Chile, countries with which Beijing recorded a 7 billion US dollars trade deficit in 2003.

China has poured around 1.6 billion US dollars in foreign direct investment into Latin America in an effort to strengthen its presence in a region traditionally dominated by the United States.

Chinese direct investment in Venezuela alone has risen to 700 million US dollars since 1997, with most of it going into oil exploration and production.

China which in 2003 became the world's biggest oil consumer behind United States and has been growing at a sustained annual rate of over 8% in recent years is seeking to diversify its suppliers of oil and gas.