Argentina targets China investment boost

Argentina expects China to boost investment in fields such as infrastructure construction, wind power, oil, natural gas, and railway construction, said Axel Kicillof, Argentina's minister of economy and public finance.

Kicillof addressed an Argentina investment project promotion seminar on Tuesday. He said the relationship between Argentina and China is becoming "much, much closer".

The seminar presented bidding opportunities for infrastructure construction, such as hydroelectric projects, telecom stations and water projects, to Chinese companies.

Kicillof said the value of projects up for bidding would be about $19 billion.

China has become Argentina's second-largest trade partner and the largest export destination for the country in agricultural products, said Hu Zucai, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Hu said bilateral trade between Argentina and China reached $14.5 billion in 2012, 3.5 times more than in 2004. And bilateral trade in the first 10 months of 2013 has already hit $12 billion.

Hu noted that Argentina has become China's sixth-largest trade partner in Latin America. Meanwhile, investments and construction projects that Chinese companies carried out in Argentina have increased rapidly.

"So far, non-financial investments that China made in Argentina has reached $7 billion, and China has become Argentina's third-largest source of capital."