Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Costa Rica, Cuba and Peru will promote the relations between China and the Latin American region to a new phase of development, said an official with the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The visit will not only boost China's trade and economic cooperation with the three countries but also enhance its ties with the Latin American region as a whole, said Osvaldo Rosales, director of the International Trade and Integration Division of the ECLAC.

China will play an important role in the upcoming Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima on Nov. 22-23, the ECLAC official told Xinhua in a recent interview.

A wide range of topics including economy, energy, climate change and food will be covered at the APEC forum, and agreements reached at the meeting will be significant to the future economic development of the Asian and Pacific region, he said.

In addition, as another important regional gathering following the Group of 20 summit in Washington, the meeting will also be focusing on measures to rein in the global financial upheavals, he added.

Noting China's rising influence as one of the most important emerging economies, Rosales said China's views on the financial crisis and other key issues including regional economic integration would draw serious attention at the APEC meeting.

As talks between China and Peru on a free trade deal are proceeding smoothly, it is highly possible for the two sides to ink an agreement during Hu's stay in Peru, said the official.

It is also possible for China and Costa Rica to announce the start of such talks in the near term during the APEC meeting, he predicted.

Trade between China and Latin America has grown rapidly since 2004 when Hu visited the region for the first time as president, he noted.

"I could recall that President Hu proposed a target of 100 billion U.S. dollars in trade between China and Latin America by 2010," he said, noting that the target was reached as early as in 2007 when trade topped 104 billion dollars.

Cooperation between China and the Latin American region has also been fruitful in other areas, he said, adding the whole region is full of expectation for Hu's visit.

Rosales encouraged more efforts of the Latin American countries to attract investment from China. He said he believed China's bid to maintain a high growth rate would benefit the world, especially the Latin American region.

The Chinese president will visit to Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru and Greece on Nov. 16-26, and also attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting during his stay in Peru.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2008)