Carlos Ignacio Giralt Cabrales

Chen Xiaochun

654789759@qq.com

Carlos Ignacio Giralt Cabrales, the new Consul General of Mexico in Guangzhou — who assumed office on July 1 — is calling for a direct flight between Guangdong Province and Mexico.

“Guangdong represents about 25 percent of the total bilateral trade volume between China and Mexico. Many of the most important Chinese companies in Mexico are from Guangdong, and around 75 to 80 percent of the Chinese in Mexico originate from this region,” he said during an interview with Shenzhen Daily on Friday.

“Guangdong receives one-third of Mexican tourists to China. So if we put all the pieces of the puzzle together, we realize that it is a good idea to have a direct flight between Mexico and Guangdong,” he said.

“I realize that we are living far away and that sometimes Mexico is not easily identified as a strategic market for China. So we need to work to develop more relationship and cultural tie. I believe that distance is an impediment, so we need to work on the connectivity between this region and Mexico. That’s why I am trying to move ahead the idea that we need to have a direct flight between the province of Guangdong and Mexico,” Giralt said.

According to him, the Mexican Consulate General in Guangzhou is already working with the Guangdong Provincial Government and China Southern Airlines on the issue, which was supported by Hu Chunhua, Guangdong’s top leader, during Hu’s visit to Mexico in May this year.

Over the past five weeks, the Consul General has visited Shenzhen twice and was greatly impressed.

“I like the city. Shenzhen is a very impressive city, because within 35 years it shifted from a very small village into such a humongous city of millions of people. It’s amazing. The urban development of the city is also very impressive. I actually value the fact that Huawei is investing in Mexico. We are very happy to see that the Mexican soil is considered a good option for Huawei Technologies,” he said.

According to Giralt, Shenzhen is an important trade partner for Mexico, representing around 9 percent of the total trade between the two countries. There are many Shenzhen-based companies that are investing in Mexico.

“For example, Huawei is the largest investor from China in Mexico. In 2014, it announced investments of around US$1.5 billion. ZTE, BYD and Mindray also have investments or offices in Mexico,” he said.

Giralt believes that part of his job consists in raising the awareness of the importance of Guangdong in Mexico as well as the awareness of Mexico in Guangdong.

Apart from the promotion of a direct flight, Mexico also applies more flexibility to visa regulations. “For Chinese who have a visa to the United States, Canada, EU, Japan or the U.K., they can travel to Mexico directly without applying for a visa to Mexico,” he said.