Consuls general of seven Latin American countries in Shanghai are gathering in Taizhou, a coastal city in east China's Zhejiang Province, to discuss further cooperation in economy and trade with this newly rising city.

The consuls general, invited to Taizhou by the local government on Tuesday, are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. They will take part in a series of activities with a theme of "friendship between Taizhou and Latin America," a local official said.

In the past three years, Taizhou has seen a year-on-year growth of 60 percent in trade with Latin American countries. Last year, the trade volume with these countries reached 280 million yuan (33.7 million US dollars).

"With increasingly close cooperation, Latin America has become an important partner of Taizhou in trade and investment," Taizhou Acting Mayor Zhang Hongming said when meeting with the consuls general.

Near the Yangtse River Delta, Taizhou is an important base of manufacturing industry. Products of some companies such as sewing machine producer China Feiyue Enterprise Group are well-known in Latin American markets.

"As supplier of industrial materials, Latin American countries also want to cooperate with Zhejiang in hi-tech industry, education and tourism," Consul General of Argentina in Shanghai Miguel A. Velloso said.

Source: Xinhua