China's 1st ambassador
to Costa Rica Presents
Credentials
Wang Xiaoyuan formally
presented his credential
letter to Costa Rican
President Oscar Arias on
Thursday, becoming
China's first ambassador
to Costa Rica in six
decades.
On June 6, Arias
established diplomatic
relations with China,
five days after his
country broke ties with
Taiwan.
Wang told a press
conference that the
establishment of
diplomatic ties between
China and Costa Rica
would benefit both
countries.
"We are examining points
of interest relating to
possible joint ventures
in economy, trade and
even tourism," he added.
Speaking at the same
conference, Arias said
he was pleased to have
made official his
country's relationship
with China. "The most
important part of this
relationship is not
trade, but the
investment that China is
making here," he said.
"China is a nation with
immense prosperity and
greatly accelerated
growth. We hope we will
begin to speak about a
free trade agreement
with China," he added.
In 2006, Costa Rica's
export volume to China
reached nearly us$1.1
billion dollars and it
imported us$618 million,
riding the wave of a
10-year growth of
bilateral trade.
Wang, China's business
attache until Thursday,
began working as a
diplomat in 1975 and has
worked in Mexico, Cuba,
Spain and Brazil. He has
been Chinese ambassador
in Equatorial Guinea and
Uruguay.
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