Far left: A dancer performs during a Chinese New Year celebration at El Salvador National Library on February 14, 2024 in San Salvador. Photo: VCG

China and El Salvador kicked off Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

On Wednesday, China International Trade Representative and Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen and El Salvador's Minister of Economy Maria Luisa Hayem announced the launch of China-El Salvador FTA talks via a video connect during the ongoing 135th session of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and El Salvador, the two countries have effectively promoted cooperation across a range of economic affairs and trade in accordance with the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and achieved fruitful results, MOFCOM said in a statement appeared on its website on Wednesday.

Bilateral trade has grown significantly, which fully reflects the resilience and development potential of economic and trade ties between the two countries, MOFCOM said. 

The launch of the China-El Salvador FTA negotiation will help enhance the positive momentum of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, continuously improve the level of pragmatic cooperation, which will benefit both peoples, officials said.

The announcement of the FTA negotiation came as China intensified work on building up its free trade network with Latin American countries. In February, China signed an early harvest arrangement for a bilateral FTA with Honduras, having carrying out three rounds of FTA negotiations with the country since July 2023.

Global Times