China Pledges US$43m in Loan and Aid to Ecuador

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 22, 2002

China Pledges US$43m in Loan and Aid to Ecuador

China has pledged US$40 million in loans and US$3 million in emergency aid to disaster-struck Ecuador. China also promised to support Ecuador in its quest to join the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and help it explore expanded markets.

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China offers aid to Ecuador

China has pledged US$40 million in loans and US$3 million in emergency aid to disaster-struck Ecuador, Ecuador President Gustavo Noboa said Thursday.

The loan will be used to build bridges while the emergency aid could be used to help the country's poor, Noboa told reporters.

Several bridges and many kilometers (miles) of highway have been destroyed or blocked by downpours in Ecuador since February, leaving some towns incommunicado.

The flood death toll has remained steady at 12.

Economic cooperation

China also promised to support Ecuador in its quest to join the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) -- an organization of countries in the Pacific Rim, said Ecuador's Foreign Minister Heinz Moeller, who is traveling with Noboa on the six-day visit to China.

A key purpose of Noboa's trip is to boost trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Trade between China and Ecuador reached US$162 million last year.

Noboa said he hopes to see more Chinese investment in Ecuador and more Ecuadoran imports to China.

"If every Chinese person eats a banana from Ecuador each day, then our foreign relations problems will be solved," Noboa said.

Exploring expanded markets

Moeller said entering APEC is part of Ecuador's new strategy to find more markets for its products and expand trade with Pacific Rim countries.

"We've been asking member countries of APEC to stop the moratorium which exist to prevent other countries like Ecuador and other Latin American countries ... to enter APEC," Moeller said.

"If we're going to make free trade in the world a reality and not just a rhetorical argument of the leaders of the world, ... we should ... accept the fact that protectionism is alive and in good health in developed countries -- the US, Japan and Europe."

He said Ecuador was working very hard to implement the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

"But what's going to happen at the end of the day is protectionism in the American Congress will not allow the market to open to our products. So we do feel that with China supporting Ecuador's presence in APEC is going to be a constructive and positive contribution," Moeller said.

"It's part of our new geopolitics."

Noboa arrived in Beijing Tuesday and is scheduled to leave for Seoul on Sunday, before travelling on to Tokyo on March 27. He will also visit the Chinese cities of Xi'an and Shanghai while in China, where he will meet with city officials.

China and Ecuador

I, Political Relations

On 2 January 1980, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Ecuador formally established diplomatic relations. In July of the same year, China set up its embassy in Ecuador. In July 1981, Ecuador set up its embassy in China.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Sino-Ecuadorian relations have been advancing smoothly. The two sides maintain high level political contacts and their exchanges in the areas of trade and economy, science and technology, culture and education grow steadily. In international affairs, the two countries understand and support each other.

II, Trade and Economic Relations

Early in 1975, the two governments signed a trade agreement. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the bilateral trade and economic relations have made new headway. Chinese main import items from Ecuador include banana, lobster and fish meal, and its main export item to Ecuador include light industry products, industrial and agricultural tools and mechanical equipment. Through common efforts, the two-way trade has soared from several million US dollars in the 1980s to over ten million US dollars in the 1990s. In 2000, the bilateral trade volume was 155 million US dollars, among which 74.87 million US dollars was Chinese export and 80.13 million US dollars was Chinese import.

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