Deals with Colombia enhance relations

China and Colombia signed nine deals on Wednesday to boost cooperation in areas including energy, agriculture and trade, as the two countries are expecting to open a new chapter in their relationship.

One-third of the deals are in the energy and mining sectors, while the others involve economic and trade, agriculture, quality inspection, water conservancy and cultural cooperation.

Analysts said that as China is trying to diversify its energy sources and has good political ties with the oil and coal-rich Colombia, bilateral energy cooperation has a promising future.

The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint study of the feasibility of a bilateral free trade agreement.

Sino-Colombian cooperation has "strong vitality and broad space for development", President Hu Jintao told visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Hu said China has always seen Colombia as China's "good friend and good partner in Latin America".

The two countries should increase trade and two-way investment and enlarge cooperation in areas including infrastructure, energy, mining, water conservancy, telecommunication and agriculture, Hu said.

Financial institutes in the two countries should expand business exchanges and provide financial services for bilateral economic, trade, and technical cooperation, Hu said.

China is ready to have closer coordination and cooperation with Colombia on international and regional issues, he said, and to jointly tackle global challenges and promote the comprehensive development of Sino-Latin-American relations.

Santos, who began a five-day visit to China on Tuesday, hailed the sound development of bilateral ties in recent years and said Colombia sees China as an important partner and hopes to add to the cooperation with China.

He said he hopes the two countries will strengthen cooperation in areas including the economy and trade, investment and agriculture.

Colombia will create favorable conditions to attract investment from Chinese companies and cooperation in areas including infrastructure, energy and resources, Santos said.

He said Colombia has a positive attitude toward bilateral negotiations on a free-trade agreement.

Colombia is ready to play an active role in promoting China's relations with Latin America, he said.

In a speech at Peking University earlier in the day, Santos said Colombia would like to serve as a platform for China and American countries to enter one another's markets.

In 2011, Sino-Colombian trade reached $8.2 billion, a 39 percent increase over the previous year, making China Colombia's second-largest trading partner, after the United States.

He Shuangrong, a professor with the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Colombia has been looking toward Asia, especially China, since Santos took office in 2010.

"The current Colombian government believes in free trade and welcomes foreign investment," He said. "Such a policy means opportunity."

Bilateral cooperation in energy has a promising future because China is trying to diversify its energy sources and has good political ties with Colombia, said Xia Yishan, a senior expert on energy strategies and a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies.

The two countries supplement each other's needs, because Colombia must export energy to support its infrastructure construction, Xia said.

Santos will visit Shanghai, China's economic hub, on Thursday and meet business leaders from both countries there on Friday.

Zhao Shengnan contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn and wangchenyan@chinadaily.com.cn