During her trip, Kirchner inked contracts for railway projects in the South American country totaling 10 billion dollars, but failed to solve a dispute over high Chinese tariffs on soybean oil imported from Argentina, the world's top exporter of the product.

The trip "was very positive," said Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, adding that Argentina hopes to "increase Chinese investments in our territory in order to create a platform for other Latin American countries."

He brushed aside the failure to resolve the soybean oil dispute.

"The primary objective of the trip was not to resolve the soybean oil issue, though it is important, but to conduct a dialogue with China on other possibilities for Argentine industry and exports," he said.

A total of 10 projects -- ranging from two to five years -- were agreed during the trip, including the purchase of Chinese railway technology and investments in electrification of Argentina's rail lines.

Trade between the two countries rose from four billion dollars in 2004 to 14 billion dollars in 2008, according to official data. Kirchner said China was Argentina's second trade partner after Brazil.

earlier related report
SLeone sees big gains from Chinese iron investment: minister
Freetown (AFP) July 16, 2010 - Sierra Leone's Mining Minister Alpha Kanu on Friday said a 1.5-billion-dollar iron-ore agreement with a Chinese firm will create jobs and boost the economy in the resource-rich, but poor country.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call from London, Kanu said the 25 percent investment by China's Shandong Iron and Steel Group in the Tonkolili iron ore mine "would provide an added boost to impact the country's weak economy."

"Sierra Leone has been described as a country with abundant mineral resources but such evidence has not been demonstrated by output or impacted on the economy (which has) instead remained poor.

"But the government is confident to reap the financial benefit both in foreign exchange earnings as well as local financial payment for royalties and other local taxation."

Kanu said Shandong's stake in London-listed African Minerals' Sierra Leonean mine project would create some 2,000 jobs, increasing to around 5,000 in the next two years.

African Minerals said Tuesday in a statement posted on its website that Shandong's funding would help build the Tonkolili mine and pay for related rail and port infrastructure.

Geological surveys by the company revealed massive iron-ore deposits of nearly five billion tons at the mine, which would make it one of the largest iron-ore discoveries in West Africa.

Kanu said: "we are expecting eight million tons of iron ore to be exported in a year's time which will be increased to 25 million within the next few years and this will act as a catalyst for the country's development."

In March President Ernest Koroma reopened a long-defunct iron-ore mine in northern Sierre Leone after the London Mining Company (LMC) bought the mining rights for 80 million dollars.

The west African nation is recovering from a decade-long civil conflict which ended in 2002 and during which it was rated the world's poorest country several years in a row.

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