Morales arrives in China

[CHIMO]

Evo Morales, the president-elect of Bolivia, has arrived in China, his latest stop on a global tour to discuss exploiting his country's massive natural gas reserves to benefit its economy.

China has been courting resource-rich developing countries and Bolivia's gas and tin reserves are likely to appeal to the energy-hungry nation.

Morales did not speak to the press after touching down in Beijing, where talks were scheduled on Sunday with Tang Jiaxuan, the State Councillor, and officials from the ruling Communist party's central committee.

A Bolivian embassy spokesman said Morales was due to meet Bo Xilai, the minister of commerce, and Hu Jintao, the president, on Monday.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EF9544B0-42C5-42AF-A6F3-7577C827F906.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Good luck to Evo Morales and the people of Bolivia.

This is tremendous news, hearing he's out and about before he's sworn in as the President.

Here's another article:

Sunday, January 8, 2006 · Last updated 10:08 p.m. PT

Bolivia's Morales makes China overture

By JOE MCDONALD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER


Bolivian President-Elect Evo Morales, right, shakes hands with Wang Jiarui, minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, prior to a meeting at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006. Morales arrived Sunday in China on a whirlwind world tour. (AP Photo/Adrian Bradshaw, Pool)
BEIJING -- Bolivia's president elect invited energy-hungry China on Sunday to help develop his country's vast gas reserves after his government carries out plans to nationalize them.

Evo Morales' visit to China comes amid a campaign by Beijing to develop ties with nations throughout Latin America as new sources of fuel, raw materials and new markets for its export dynamo.

Carlos Villegas, an economic adviser to Morales, said the industrialization of natural gas "is a fundamental topic" for Bolivia's incoming government.

"He invited the Chinese government, through its state companies, to participate," Villegas said.
(snip/...)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310AP_China_Morales.html

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The Bolivian people desperately need something better than the water privatization scam laid on them by _Bush-affiliated business, the Bechtel Company, which even tried to make it ILLEGAL FOR BOLIVIANS TO COLLECT RAINWATER. It's a miracle the people didn't murder them. What unspeakable greed.

[0007]

2. "The Bolivian people desperately need something better"

I hope they can clean up the country of all the Tom DeLay type of cock-a-roches and find sanity for the down trodden and poor.