23:30 | Sanya, China, Apr. 05 (ANDINA).
Peru may become the largest recipient of Chinese investment in Latin America, President Ollanta Humala said during his meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in Sanya, Hainan province, on Saturday.
"For us, China is today a major trading partner and we believe that, as the events are developing, Peru may be the first center of Chinese investment in Latin America," he said.
President Humala also highlighted China's role in the global economy and said that China is "in constant motion" and that is a nation poised "to have a global relevance."
For his part, Xi Jinping stressed that the Peruvian president's visit to China "will give a major boost to the strategic partnership between China and Peru."
In the presence of the official delegations of the two countries, the Chinese leader described the Peruvian president as an "old friend of the Chinese people" because he had visited the Asian country twice (2003 and 2010), but this time as Head of State.
"It's true, this is the third time I come to China, first I came with my family to know the country and then as president of the Peruvian Nationalist Party," President Ollanta Humala recalled.
Xi Jinping also took the opportunity to thank the Peruvian president for having congratulated him on his election as President of the Republic of China.
Previously, the Peruvian head of state was officially received in the gardens of the Sheraton Hotel in Sanya, during a formal ceremony in which the national anthems of both countries were sang.
Also present were Foreign Minister Rafael Roncagliolo, Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino Tafur, Minister of Transport and Communications Carlos Paredes and Agriculture Minister Milton Von Hesse.
After their meeting, Presidents Ollanta Humala and Xi Jinping participated in the signing ceremony of bilateral agreements in various fields.
(END) NDP/ASH/EEP
Published: 4/5/2013