TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - Japan's fifth-largest automaker, Mazda Motor Co , is exploring opportunities in China with partner Ford Motor Co , new president Lewis Booth said on Thursday.
"We are looking at further opportunities in China both in terms of vehicles and in terms of component sourcing," he told reporters.
"I know that Ford is doing just the same thing. We are looking together to see if there are any areas of mutual benefit in China," he said.
Ford owns 33.3 percent of Mazda -- still a very small player in China but which like other automakers is eager to strengthen its presence in the world's most populous nation.
The lowering of tariffs and the lifting of restrictions on models sold that have come with China's entry into the World Trade Organisation last December have lured Japan's car companies to plunge deeper into the market.
Booth, who became Mazda's new President on Tuesday, said any new deal would have to respect Mazda's and Ford's existing relationships with their Chinese partners but declined further comment on details.
The Chugoku Shimbun, a regional newspaper covering the Hiroshima area where the Japanese automaker is based, has reported that Mazda and Ford are considering a joint venture in China that would build at least 150,000 vehicles per year.
It has also reported that Mazda is in talks with First Automotive Works (FAW), China's biggest auto group, to build its new mid-sized sedan, the Mazda6 in Changchun in northeast China.
Mazda currently has an agreement with FAW to build its Premacy and Familia models on the southern island of Hainan.
Mazda supplies the kits and technical assistance and FAW Hainan Motor Co Ltd, wholly-owned by the Chinese government, builds the vehicles.
The two are also setting up a Mazda distribution network. Mazda, however, only has a small stake in part of the venture, owning 17.5 percent of Hainan Mazda Motor Stamping. Ford is building a 50-50 joint venture with the Chongqing Chang'An Auto Group.
Booth said he would not rule out the possibility of Mazda taking a greater equity stake in a venture in China but said it was too early to give a conclusive answer.
"We are a company with limited resources and we have a lot of priorities competing for those resources," he said.