Visiting Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo pledged Thursday in Beijing that Peru warmly welcomes Chinese investment and is ready to serve as a platform for Chinese products to integrate into South American Market.

When addressing a China-Peru business seminar, he said the people of the two nations have made friendly exchanges and visits for more than 150 years. He also said that Peru has maintained a very good relationship with China since the forging of its diplomatic ties with the country in 1971.

Chinese migration and culture has become a very important part of Peru's political, economic and social life, Toledo said. The Peruvian people admire the economic achievements made by Chinese people and hopes China can expand investment in Peru.

China has already poured approximately 300 million US dollars into Peru's mining, oil and fishery industries. By the end of 2004, the two-way trade volume was valued at 1.94 billion US dollars, an increase of 74.4 percent over the previous year. In the first quarter of 2005, bilateral trade surged to 682 million US dollars, jumping 124.1 percent over the same period of last year.

Source: Xinhua