CARACAS - Technology cooperation with China will  bolster Venezuela's industrial capacity, a government minister said.

The bilateral strategic ties are "very important" to Venezuela, Basic Industry and Mining Minister Jose Khan told Xinhua on Sunday, adding that the joint commissions of the two nations have held nine meetings to design production projects to boost Venezuelan economic development.

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He said that the plans designed would cover various fundamental areas, such as transportation, agriculture, food production and telecom.

"In the case of basic industries, we have been discussing and approving a series of projects which will allow in 2011 the basic industries to recover their production and improve their productiveness," he said.

Khan also told Xinhua the government plans to expand ports along the Orinoco River, the major transport system for eastern and interior Venezuela, in order to streamline the transportation of mining products.

There are also plans to buy hi-tech machinery for iron extraction, he said. In the case of aluminum, the government plans to upgrade existing plants and build new extraction plants.

He said these projects will improve "not only the conditions of the workers, but also the conditions of the people, because these materials will be used for the national housing plan."