Argentine President Nestor Kirchner said on Thursday that the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) hopes to strengthen trade and economic relations with China.

In a speech during the 26th Mercosur Summit, which started Wednesday in the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazu, Kirchner said his recent visit to China indicated that the bloc has attached great importance to the country's integration with the world trade.

On trade negotiations between Mercosur and other regions or countries, he stressed that "the Far East, South Korea, Japan and China have expressed their wish to support their ties in every aspect" with the bloc.

"We want to deepen the trade promotion of our products by organizing new joint commercial missions, participating together in international fairs and supporting companies of the member states for a greater commercial complementation that will create new business opportunities in foreign markets," Kirchner added.

The president accompanied by a regional business delegation, which included more than 300 businessmen from Mercosur, visited China from June 27 to July 3.

China has become in recent years a growing market for the exports of Mercosur member countries, such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

Mercosur is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia, Chile and Peru as associate members.

Source: Xinhua