Interview: Chinese companies interested in Mexico market: official

More than 200 Chinese companies have expressed their interest in the Mexican market, a senior Mexican official said here at the weekend.

Eduardo Seldner Avila, commissioner of the Mexico Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai, told Xinhua that since the World Expo in Shanghai opened two months ago, the Mexico Pavilion has attracted more and more Chinese visitors, many of them senior executive officers of the Chinese companies.

"Many Chinese companies have shown their interest in making investment in carrying out big projects in Mexico's different sectors," Seldner said, adding that many Mexican companies are also interested in cooperation with their Chinese counterparts.

Three Chinese companies are now holding talks with their Mexican counterparts, including former Mexican Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, on jointly carrying out a big mining project in Mexico, he said.

According to Seldner, Mexico is a large mining country in the Americas, ranking the 12th place in the world. "We have a sustainable mining. We are very interested in cooperating with other countries in mining sector. And China is now one of the main actors in the world's mining sector," he said.

Seldner said there would be a seminar on infrastructure in August in Mexico and five Mexican ministers would travel to China to seek the Chinese technology and investment for some specific projects in Mexico.

With a mining history of some 500 years, Mexico is the world's top silver producer and the world's fifth oil producer. So far, more than 50 kinds of minerals have been found in the country, including oil, natural gas, silver, lead, zinc, copper, mercury, iron, bismuth, gold and molybdenum.

Meanwhile, Seldner said, Mexican companies are also interested in doing businesses with the Chinese companies. He cited a Mexican salt company in Guerrero Negro which is now negotiating with a Chinese company on salt export.

"The first stage of salt export transactions for 2010 is 6 million U.S. dollars," he said, adding that Mexico also hoped to export tequila, a special Mexican drink, to China, among many others.

Seldner, also chief of the Administration and Finance Office of ProMexico, an investment and export promoter in Mexico, said the main goal of the Mexico Pavilion was to "show China and the world" Mexico's proposals to work together with them to make the world better with Mexico's contributions.

"The World Expo in Shanghai is a big platform for all countries and regions to show them to China and the world as well. So we must use the platform and take out best things to China and the world: art, culture, economy potential, cuisine, and our people," he said.

The goal of ProMexico is to promote Mexico aboard, he added. "The first thing we have to do is to do our job well at the World Expo in Shanghai, because we know the future is China."

According to Seldner, more than 1.1 million people have visited the Mexican Pavilion during the first 60 days. "The number of visitors is much more than we expected. We are proud of this with satisfaction," he said.

Statistics show that every day witnesses some 19,000 visitors touring the Mexican Pavilion. "No doubt, our pavilion has been well welcomed at the World Expo in Shanghai," Seldner said with a big smile.

The Mexican Pavilion has been the most visited by officers of the Chinese government, the Organizing Committee and the Mexican visitors, including Mexican businessman Telmex Chairman Carlos Slim and Mexican ministers of Tourism and Economy Gloria Guevara and Eduardo Sojo.

In the Mexican Pavilion visitors can view 40 masks of Mexican flavor which represent 40 experiences of a daily life in Mexico, and learn Mexico's pre-hispanic cultures highlighted by the Maya Culture which can be dated back to 1300 BC.
(Source:xinhua)