Chinese premier pledges industrial cooperation with Ecuador

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met in Beijing on Thursday with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, vowing to aid Ecuador in its industrialization.

Li said China supports Ecuador in mapping out a program for national industrial development and is willing to help Ecuador in developing its steel, metallurgical and shipbuilding industries, using China's advantage in equipment manufacturing.

He said he hopes Ecuador will continue to play a positive role in promoting China-Latin America cooperation, as the country holds the rotating presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

China and Ecuador announced the establishment of a strategic partnership while commemorating their 35th year of diplomatic ties on Wednesday.

The announcement came out of hour-long talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Correa.

Li said China is ready to increase political mutual trust with Ecuador, enhance development of bilateral ties, and push forward all-round cooperation to benefit people of both countries.

Correa said he was delighted to see an increase in Chinese investment in Ecuador in recent years.

He said their bilateral relations are a model for Latin America-China relations, featuring sound cooperation in economics and trade, politics, people-to-people exchanges and multilateral cooperation.

He congratulated China on successfully hosting the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC forum, saying it was a historic event in Latin America-China relations.

Ecuador will continue to be committed to development of overall Latin America-China relations, he said.

Correa attended the opening ceremony of the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC forum Thursday morning. He is also paying a visit to China.

The 33-member CELAC, a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states, was founded in December 2011 in Venezuela.