President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Trinidad and Tobago will help transform the two countries' profound friendship into impetus to their bilateral cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Huang Xingyuan has said.

"This visit is of profound historic and practical significance as it will be the first visit by a Chinese president to Trinidad and Tobago," Huang said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"It therefore reflects China's will and determination to enhance and expand relations with Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region," he added. Xi will visit Trinidad and Tobago between May 31 and June 2.

The ambassador said the two countries have enjoyed a long history of exchanges and friendship since the Chinese people set foot on Trinidad and Tobago more than 200 years ago, long before the formal establishment of their diplomatic relations on June 20, 1974.

Over the past 39 years, China has kept stable relations with Trinidad and Tobago and the two countries have maintained extensive exchanges and cooperation in various areas, such as politics, economy and culture, Huang said.

He stressed that with the establishment of "friendly and cooperative relationship of mutual benefit and development" in 2005, China and Trinidad and Tobago have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges, which fully embody the high attention and positive attitude of the two countries toward enhancing their bilateral relations.

Based on political mutual trust and mutual support, the two countries have maintained close communication on major international and regional issues and firmly supported each other especially on issues concerning their respective core interests, Huang said.

On bilateral economic and trade ties, the ambassador said the cooperation in both public and private sectors between the two countries has been springing up in recent years with bilateral trade surpassing 627 million U.S. dollars in 2011.

"We've seen an increasing number of businessmen from Trinidad and Tobago investing in China and Chinese businessmen frequenting Trinidad and Tobago to explore market," he added.

Huang believed that China's presence in Trinidad and Tobago conforms to the common interests of both countries.

"Since the economies of the two countries are strongly complementary, potential for further economic and trade cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit is huge," he said.

The ambassador said cultural and education exchanges between the two countries have also been deepened in recent years.

"Troupes of artists from Tianjin, Chongqing and Shenzhen have successively given performances in Trinidad and Tobago, displaying Chinese culture while China has received more and more students from Trinidad and Tobago majoring in diverse fields such as international relations, healthcare, art, and so on," he said.

But Huang said though cooperation between the two countries has made remarkable achievements, there is still more to be expected.

"As the world is experiencing profound and complex changes, China and Trinidad and Tobago are both in an important period of strategic opportunities for national development, and therefore both sides wish and need to push their cooperation to a higher level," he said.

"It is believed that President Xi's visit will further deepen the traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust, and expand cooperation in various fields between China and Trinidad and Tobago, so as to push the bilateral relations to a new stage of rapid and comprehensive development," the ambassador said.

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