MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Saturday broke ground for a China-funded convention center in Montego Bay, north of Jamaica.

    At the ceremony, Xi described the amity between China and Jamaica with a Chinese saying which says bosom friends stay close at heart though thousands of miles apart.

    The China-Jamaica friendly partnership for common development, established in 2005, has led the bilateral cooperation into a new stage as mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples were deepened and cooperation in various fields achieved remarkable progress, Xi said.

Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Montego Bay Convention Center, which is contracted to be built by China, in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Feb. 14, 2009

China highly values the friendly and cooperative relations with the Caribbean region, and is determined to build an all-around cooperative partnership for equality, mutual benefit and common development with Latin American-Caribbean countries, Xi said.

    With a project budget of about 52 million U.S. dollars, the convention center, once completed, will provide approximately 20,000 square meters of rooms for meetings, exhibitions and other events.

    Xi said the convention center will become not only a new sight in the coastal tourism city, but also a milestone in the China-Jamaica mutually beneficial cooperation.

    Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, Montego Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair were also present at the groundbreaking ceremony.

    Xi concluded his visit to Jamaica in the afternoon and left for Colombia to continue his six-nation tour, which includes the trips to Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Malta.