Ecuador seeks to deepen its ties with China in the fields of diplomacy, politics and commerce, a government official said Tuesday.

President Rafael Correa has set some initiatives as priorities for strengthening the bilateral ties, Mentor Villagomez, undersecretary of economy and commerce, said during a forum on his country's relations with China.

Villagomez said China and Ecuador have agreed on transportation cooperation and technical exchanges.

The Ecuadorian government has also proposed other measures, including making Ecuador a Chinese tourist destination, strengthening Ecuador's commercial offices in China and periodically sending commercial missions to the country, Villagomez said.

Meanwhile, Mikio Kuwayama, representative of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said Ecuador should do more to explore Chinese markets.

"China has become a very important country for the export of the Latin American countries, but for Ecuador it is still very limited, and it must change," Kuwayama said, "Ecuador must diversify its products to be exported to China."

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2008)