BUENOS AIRES — China offers other emerging nations an “enormous opportunity” to boost and diversify their exports, Argentina’s newly appointed ambassador to China Diego Guelar said on Feb 22.

Guelar, who is set to travel to Beijing next month to take up his post, hailed China’s reform process and elaborated on how it can positively affect its trade partners.

In an interview with local radio Nacional Folklorica, Guelar said China’s ongoing opening-up process is carried out in a “very novel way,” and offers an enormous opportunity for emerging countries, such as Argentina, to diversify their exports.

Gular noted that some 86 percent of Argentina’s exports to China are food products sold by about 15 major companies, while 99.5 percent of what the Asian country is exporting to the South American country are industrial products from some 3,000 companies.

“We still have a long way to go in finding out what we can do for such a large market like China,” said the diplomat.

The inclusion of the Chinese currency, the yuan, into the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Right basket has “symbolically cemented” China’s global presence, he said.

“For me, it’s an enormous challenge and honor to represent Argentina in China,” Guelar said at the Senate Accords Committee a week ago.

He stressed the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership and mentioned in particular the ongoing bilateral projects, including the modernization of Argentina’s Belgrano Cargas cargo railway as well as mining and energy cooperation.

“We don’t view China as a lifesaver, but as an element for Argentina’s development,” Guelar told legislators.