California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger left for Mexico Thursday on a trade mission aimed at promoting cross-border economic development.

The delegation, comprising more than 60 members of the agriculture, tourism and business communities, would seek ways to strengthen economic ties with California's top trading partner, Schwarzenegger said in a statement e-mailed to Xinhua.

"International trade is a huge part of California's economic success and that's why I'm a big believer in the power of trade missions," he said. "Trade missions are fantastic opportunities for Californians to discover new markets for their ideas and products and attract new investments to build partnerships around the world."

Schwarzenegger said he would focus on building relationships and strengthening California's economic ties with our neighbor to the south.

Mexico accounts for about 17.7 billion dollars in export trade annually from California. Some 177,000 jobs are tied to trade with Mexico and 581 million dollars of California's agricultural products were exported to Mexico last year.

Source: Xinhua