China-L. America co-op has great potential: Wen

SANTIAGO - The immense Pacific Ocean cannot hinder the promising cooperation between China and Latin America, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here Tuesday.

China-Latin America cooperation is just in the embryonic stage and boasts great potential, Wen said in a meeting with Chinese embassy staff and other overseas Chinese before concluding his four-nation visit to the region.

Recalling his meetings with Brazilian, Uruguayan, Argentine and Chilean leaders, Wen said all of them proposed to raise the added values in trade with China, namely to increase the proportion of finished goods in exports.

In view of this "inevitable" trend, Wen said, he suggested in a video conference with Southern Common Market (Mercosur) leaders on Monday that the two sides initiate a feasibility study on a free trade area (FTA) pact.

The idea has drawn attention from across the region and the world at large, but it would not be an easy task, the Chinese premier said.

The two sides should abide by international rules while advancing the FTA process, and China will sincerely carry out concrete action to facilitate their exports, Wen added.

The two sides, he said, need to maintain a balanced and sustainable trading pattern, which is both the principle and the goal of China.

China has also proposed to double the trade volume with Mercosur to 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2016 on the basis of the 2011 level and to double that with Chile to 60 billion dollars by 2015, he told the attendants.

Noting that all the four countries have expressed hopes for more Chinese investment in infrastructure, including oil, natural gas, railways and hydropower stations, Wen said China, while striving to boost domestic demand, encourages its enterprises to go abroad and explore new markets.

As regards China's economic development, Wen said the lingering global financial crisis has prompted people across the world to hold high expectations for China's economic growth and the Chinese market.

Following years and decades of rapid economic development, China will continue to forge ahead, keeping its own house in order and striving to build a better nation, said the premier.