On January 25, 2022, Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy CITR, and César Montaño, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (MREMH) of Ecuador, and Daniel Legarda, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries of Ecuador, co-chaired the 14th meeting of the Joint Trade and Economic Commission of China and Ecuador via video link to exchange views on promoting free trade cooperation, trade and investment, and strengthening mechanism building in economic and trade. China’s Ambassador to Ecuador Chen Guoyou, Ecuador’s ambassador to China Carlos Larrea, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Administration of Customs and China International Development Cooperation Agency attended the meeting.

Wang Shouwen said that in August 2021, President Xi Jinping spoke with President Guillermo Lasso on the phone and reached an important consensus on deepening pragmatic cooperation between China and Ecuador, which pointed out the direction for economic cooperation and trade between the two countries. In 2021, bilateral trade between China and Ecuador increased substantially, with import and export reaching USD11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 45%, showing strong resilience and vitality. The two sides actively explored the negotiation and signing of a free trade agreement and completed the joint feasibility study of the free trade agreement. China stands ready to strengthen investment cooperation with Ecuador in the fields of digital economy and green development, and maintain close communication under multilateral mechanisms and frameworks. It is hoped that Ecuador will continue to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory market environment for Chinese enterprises.

César Montaño and Daniel Legarda said that Ecuador regards China as an important economic and trade partner. China is Ecuador's second largest trading partner in the world. Chinese enterprises have invested in and built many infrastructure cooperation projects in Ecuador. Ecuador welcomes Chinese enterprises in continuing to expand their investment in Ecuador. China and Ecuador have broad prospects for investment cooperation in digital economy and green development. Ecuador is willing to maintain close communication with China on FTA negotiations and strengthen cooperation in customs, civil aviation and other fields.

The meeting generated practical deliverables, and the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding between China and Ecuador on the Establishment of a Working Group on Investment and Economic Cooperation. The two sides agreed to promote consultation and exchanges in investment, trade, inspection and quarantine and pragmatic cooperation on key projects, actively explore investment cooperation in digital economy and green development, promote trade and investment facilitation, deepen e-commerce cooperation, and constantly explore new area for cooperation.

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