China, Venezuela to boost trade between the two countries through business forum

Members of the government and the private sector from China’s Shandong Province and Venezuela’s state of Aragua gathered in the state’s capital to attend the Expo Aragua Potencia Internacional where the representatives from China and Venezuela agreed to boost trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

According to Venezuelan Minister of Industries Jose David Cabello’s Twitter feed, the agreement between the two countries seeks to strengthen trade relations that would promote agricultural products from Aragua to Shandong. All this will be made possible through the network of contacts that will be developed during the forum.

About 28 Chinese business people who are leaders in their respective fields will be at the forum to explore trade opportunities with their Araguan counterparts.

Tareck El Aissami, Aragua’s governor, addressed the expo participants said that representatives from both sides are at the forefront of a new model of strategic cooperation between the two nations.

However, this is not the first time Chinese representatives visited Aragua. According to Ji Xianggi, Shandong’s deputy governor, the ties between the coastal province and Aragua strengthened when Hugo Chavez became president and started trade relations with China.

The business forum would promote partnerships and pointed out Shandong’s textile market to be a good business space for Venezuela.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Venezuela last July, he and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have agreed to upgrade the two countries’ bilateral ties into a more comprehensive strategic relation. So far, the two countries’ trade surpassed $20 billion in 2013.