China is a reality that cannot be shunned, and that is why Costa Rica's Chamber of Exporters (Crecex) has created the Pro-China project, Crecex President Alvaro Aguilar told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Crecex is now sending an invitation to Costa Rican and other Central American business people to visit the 101st Canton Trade Fair in April, he said.

"One of the many trade missions we have undertaken is to create opportunities in China for our partners and for interested business people" he said.

Aguilar said that China's dramatic change in recent years has brought the country to the center of world trade, and Costa Rican businesses must develop links with China as soon as possible.

"China is the world's factory and the Chinese have made their country an incredible place. In the past, we saw them making simple goods, but now we see 'made in China' on the most sophisticated things, such as the most advanced computers and cars," Aguilar said.

He said that it was unacceptable that Costa Rica still lacks diplomatic relations with China, given that trade between the two countries is growing each year.

"Costa Rica cannot afford to not have diplomatic relations with a third of the world's population. We can't understand it," he said.

"Even though we don't have diplomatic relations, China has become one of our largest trading partners. In 2006,trade between the two countries topped a billion dollars: an incredible sum that no-one imagined 10 years ago," Aguilar told Xinhua.

According to Aguilar, at least 130 businesses plan to take part in the trade fair in April. The Canton Fair experience could be the determining factor for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs who are seeking new markets and opportunities in Asia, he said.

Aguilar thanked the Canton Fair's organizers on behalf of Crecex which, he said, has a long-standing friendship with China's authorities.

"We have the longest relationship with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and have tried to work with the body so that our cultures grow closer. We have made friends with China's officials in a very professional way," he said.

Source: Xinhua