Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's official visit to Mexico this week is expected to pave the way for a high-level China-Mexico meeting when Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto visits Beijing during the APEC meeting in November.

Yi will be in Mexico City from Sept 28 to 30 to co-chair the sixth meeting of the China-Mexico Bilateral Commission, and will share the co-chair duties with Mexico's foreign minister, José Antonio Meade Kuribre?a.

"Wang's visit to Mexico will be another major event of China-Mexico political exchanges that are warming up quickly thanks to the strong political will of the two heads of state to develop a bilateral relationship,” said Sun Hongbo, a researcher in China-Latin American relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Mexico in June 2013, the two sides announced the upgrading of China-Mexico relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. As China and Mexico "are both moving onto a fast-track of economic and social development and embracing a promising future,” there is "an unprecedented opportunity for our two countries to further advance bilateral relations,” Xi said in a speech at the Mexican Senate.

"Mexico has started its reforms in energy, telecommunications and other fields and it is in urgent need of foreign investment. The Mexican side welcomes more Chinese investment in its infrastructure and other sectors,” Sun said.

Mexico is an important player in Latin America and has great geopolitical significance because it is adjacent to the United States, he said.

"The deepening of China-Mexico ties will inject great impetus into the development of China's relations with the entire region," Sun said. "There is great potential for China and Mexico to expand economic and trade cooperation and expand converging interests."

[email protected]