FTA negotiations with China to bring growth opportunities, says Ecuadorian president

QUITO, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has spoken highly of the start of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Ecuador and China, saying that increasing exports to China will generate growth opportunities for his country.

Lasso, who concluded his official visit to China last week, made the remarks at a press conference here on Wednesday, where he elaborated the benefits of the negotiations for Ecuador.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Ecuadorian Minister for Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries Julio Prado recently signed a memorandum of understanding, marking the start of bilateral FTA negotiations.

"The global economy is a reality," said Lasso. "I believe that sooner or later we had to reach this point with China."

The president emphasized the need to improve and diversify exports beyond top products such as pitahaya, noting, "Selling more shrimp and more bananas to China means more employment in Ecuador. These markets will be strengthened."

"I believe that a small country like Ecuador with 17.7 million inhabitants has many opportunities in that large market of 1.4 billion inhabitants. It is very positive for Ecuador," Lasso said.

While its bumpy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic does not allow for a great economic leap to enhance employment, Ecuador may "find a positive path in China" towards growth through increasing trade openness, he said.

Since only three out of 10 Ecuadorians have formal jobs, one of the challenges facing the Ecuadorian government is to gear up employment, making it urgent to increase exports and attract investment.

In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between China and Ecuador has achieved remarkable results, with significant growth in bilateral trade, said China's Ministry of Commerce in a statement earlier this week.

China has been Ecuador's second-largest trading partner for two consecutive years. In 2021, bilateral trade totaled 10.95 billion U.S. dollars, up 44.5 percent year on year.

The signing of a free trade agreement will help further tap the potential of bilateral trade and promote its sustained, stable and diversified development, according to the statement.