Mexico would very much like to expand its cooperation with the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, with which it has maintained close ties, said the Mexican ambassador to China, Jose Luis Bernal Rodriguez, ahead of this year’s BRICS summit.

Mexico is one of the five non-member countries invited to attend the 9th BRICS Summit scheduled for September 3 to 5 in the city of Xiamen in east China’s Fujian Province.

“[The meeting will allow us] to expand cooperation among countries, which are looking for new formulas for development, for cooperation, looking for new resources, financial, industrial knowledge and otherwise, that we can join together so as to find this common ground for better opportunities for our peoples,” said Bernal Rodriguez in a recent interview with China Central Television.

China is currently Mexico’s second largest trading partner, while Mexico is China’s second largest trading partner in Latin America.

According to Bernal Rodriguez, bilateral trade between the two countries, which totaled 42.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, has been dominated by industrial goods.

The ambassador said he hopes that the two nations will be able to further their trade ties and sees strong potential for Mexican farm produce in the Chinese market.

“On the tables of the Chinese consumers, you can enjoy Mexican avocados, berries, beef, pork, coffee, beer, tequila. There is a long list of products that we would like to continue expanding, so that we can also contribute not only to the creation of a regional market, of a regional context, but also to the enjoyment of life by the Chinese consumers,” he said.

Earlier this year, China proposed an initiative to expand BRICS into “BRICS Plus” to build a wider partnership among developing countries.

Analysts say that approach demonstrates the openness and inclusiveness of the BRICS mechanism and will create more opportunities for developing nations to cooperate on trade, investment, e-commerce and more areas.