Mexico will start on Monday to issue long-duration and multiple-entry visas to businessmen from China in order to drive the economic exchange, said the government on Sunday.

The new visas will have a three-year duration and allow multiple 30-day entries to businessmen and company-consultants "to promote opportunities for investments" between the two countries, said the National Institute of Migration.

The issuance of these visas was announced in a communiqué by the Interior Secretariat (Ministry) at the end of the week-long state visit by President Hu Jintao in Mexico.

Mexico is the second most important trading partner to China in Latin America, behind Brazil.

The Interior Secretariat said the new visas constitute "an additional instrument" to the existing ones in consulates and are aimed at "facilitating investing in Mexico and favorable migratory flows."

According to the communiqué, Chinese businessmen will be able to change in Mexican territory their document for "a non-migrant FM3 form."

The FM3 form is "a type of identification card with photo, with duration of up to a year, that could be extended," said the Interior Secretariat and mentioned that documenting procedures continue for "Chinese tourists and visitors from other countries."

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2005)