A renowned Chinese scholar of Sino-Latin American relations told Xinhua on Thursday that President Hu Jintao's planned second visit to Latin America will deepen bilateral relations.

Jiang Shixue, vice president of the Chinese Association for Latin American Studies, spoke highly of Hu's trip in an exclusive interview.

Hu plans to attend the 16th informal summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference in Lima on Nov. 22-23 and make state visits to Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru and Greece at the invitation of his counterparts.

On Hu's planned first visit to Costa Rica, Jiang said it would greatly promote bilateral relations and further increase China's regional impact.

In 2004, Hu visited Latin America for the first time, and since then, bilateral relations, in the economic field in particular, have developed rapidly, Jiang said.

Chinese customs figures show bilateral trade between China and Latin America exceeded 102.57 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, compared with the 100 billion U.S.-dollar goal set by Hu during his first trip.

Jiang said there were some problems in Sino-Latin America relations, due to the fast development of trade. "It means China and Latin America should increase their mutual understanding and communication."

The financial crisis has provided a new opportunity for Sino-Latin American cooperation, Jiang said.

Commented on the just-issued Chinese policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean Region, the first on this topic, the scholar said the document is a clear indication that China is willing to promote Sino-Latin America ties, which will be focused on economics and trade.

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2008)