Ecuador calls for more cooperation to boost economy

Ecuador is willing to borrow more experience in economic development from China and called for further cooperation in new sectors to take bilateral ties to the next level.

Visiting Ecuadorean Vice-President Jorge Glas made the remarks in Beijing on Wednesday.

"This is a new step in Continuing to strengthen relations with China," Glas said.

Glas is making his first trip to China since he was elected vice-president in May.

Since its current constitution took effect in 2008, Ecuador has been undergoing a series of political and economic reforms.

Glas said the reforms have worked out well for the country so far. Ecuador is enjoying a high employment rate, and since 2007 has seen an annual average GDP growth of 4.3 percent, higher than the average in Latin America. The population in poverty is continuously decreasing, he said.

"Ecuador has the most infrastructure investment in the northern region of South America, and we maybe have better roads than other regional countries," he said.

While the government is seeking sustainable development, many challenges it faces make it value its cooperation with China, Glas said.

"China began its reforms about 35 years ago, and we need to catch up. It has sufficient experience in national development and abundant knowledge about technologies that can support our reforms," the vice-president said.

"We want to propose our important development plans to the Chinese government, financial institutes and enterprises," Glas said.

The vice-president met with his Chinese counterpart, Li Yuanchao, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, and Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology.

The Ecuadorean vice-president also attended a forum that promoted business opportunities to a number of Chinese companies in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The economies of Ecuador and China are highly complementary. While we receive financial and technological support from China, we export our goods and resources to China to meet their demands in development. In this win-win relationship, we are working together like good friends," Glas added.

Comparing his country's experience of negotiating with international institutions for support, Glas said China's support for Ecuador is always unconditional, which ensures bilateral cooperation based on mutual respect.

From January to November 2013, trade volume between China and Ecuador was $3.56 billion, an increase of 30.4 percent from the previous year. Ecuador's exports to China were about $540 million in the same period, increasing nearly 50 percent, while imports from China were $3.02 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

"China has become Ecuador's fourth-largest trading partner in the world, and Ecuador is China's fourth-biggest overseas contracting market. We are one major investment destination and one important energy partner for China in Latin America," Glas said.

More than 70 Chinese companies have invested in Ecuador, and the vice-president expects more Chinese firms to go to the country this year.

"We have a significant geographic position in Latin America and good transportation facilities, while Chinese companies can use our country as a logistics base to cover the whole region. I believe the opportunities created by new roads, new ports and new airports will be valuable for Chinese enterprises," he added.

Ecuador also hopes Chinese companies can bring more technologies to improve Ecuador's innovation capabilities, Glas said.

"We have special economic zones for new industries and technologies, and the country needs to be less dependent on exporting raw materials. We want to produce more value-added goods. With the support of China, we can do it," the vice-president added.

zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/23/2014 page10)