QUITO, Feb. 11 (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.
"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.
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.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
