SHANGHAI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrived here Thursday morning, kicking off her visit to China.

    Bachelet attended the completion ceremony for buildings of the Chile Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai Thursday morning.

    Chile is the first Latin American country which confirmed its attendance to the Expo 2010 and built a pavilion covering an area of 3,000 square meters.

    Bachelet said Chile can build a bridge between the two continents by taking part in the Expo 2010.

    Bachelet gave a speech at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was conferred a title of honorary professor in the afternoon.

    She told the students and faculty there that, Chile and China, which are both seeking to develop, carrying out the opening-up policy and exploring overseas market, shared the same goal of growth.

    The year 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the forging of Chile-China diplomatic ties, said Bachelet, "I believe the friendship will be further strengthened between the two countries in the next forty years."

    Later Thursday, Bachelet announced the formal opening of the Chinese version of Chile's official website, which provided an all-around introduction to Chile.

    Bachelet is paying a working visit to China's economic powerhouse Shanghai from Thursday to Friday at the invitation of the Chinese government.