CARACAS - The China Development Bank (CDB) opened an office here on Saturday, a move that indicates the two countries will further strengthen their economic relations.

Addressing the opening ceremony, CDB President Hu Huaibang stressed the importance of the office in boosting Chinese investment in Venezuela and promoting two-way trade.

"Our office in Caracas is the second financial institution we have established in Latin America after Rio de Janeiro. We take this opening as a new beginning to further intensify cooperation between our governments, financial institutions and Venezuelan companies," Hu said.

"It will definitely be a bridge of cooperation in various fields, as well as an important means of friendship between our two peoples," he said.

Present at the event were senior Venezuelan government officials including Minister of Economy and Finance Rodolfo Marco Torres.

"As part of a new economic order in China-Venezuela relations and with the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, it's very significant that the China Development Bank open its office here," said Torres.

Established in March 1994, the CDB, a joint stock bank wholly-owned by the Chinese government, is primarily responsible for funding large-scale infrastructure, social development and international cooperation projects.