China-Latin America Economic and Trade Cooperation Shows Vitality and Potential

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, import and export data for the first half of this year show that economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin American countries has maintained its growth and has great potential, experts agree.
China has continued to expand its openness abroad and continuously optimize its trade structure, thus becoming a stabilizer of bilateral trade between China and Latin America and the Caribbean and playing an important role in stabilizing world trade, they point out.

According to statistics released this month by the General Administration of Customs of China, the volume of trade between China and Latin America in the first half of this year totaled about 203,000 million dollars, 45.6 percent more than the same period last year.
The Brazilian economist Tania Cristina Teixeira, president of the Regional Council of the Economy of the state of Minas Gerais, said that "the Chinese economy boosted its internal economy with great efficiency, and also optimized its relations in international competition."
"We can only evaluate positively" the importance of Chinese foreign trade, as a great buyer and seller in relation to the rest of the world, she said.

According to data from the aforementioned Chinese institution, the total volume of imports and exports between China and Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, in the first half of this year, increased 42.8 percent.
The economist Demian Castro, founder of the Brazil-China Studies Center and professor at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), said that the performance of Chinese foreign trade in the first semester is "something very positive" that has a favorable impact on external accounts. Brazilian.
"The Brazilian external accounts are showing good signs. Exports are reacting well due to the Chinese phenomenon, that is indisputable," he said.
For her part, the deputy director of the Department of America and Oceania of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Peng Tao, affirmed that in recent years, Latin American companies have participated dynamically in activities such as the China International Import Expo.

The trade structure between China and Latin America has continued to be optimized and trade cooperation is increasingly fluid, the official noted.
Currently, Latin America is the second most important destination for Chinese investment abroad, and a relevant partner for international cooperation in production capacity.
According to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in the first five months of this year, China's direct investment in Latin America reached $ 10.38 billion, representing an increase of 40 percent over the same period of the year. last.

In expanding cooperation in various fields between China and Latin America, the Belt and Road Initiative has attracted a large number of Latin American countries and has become an important platform for cooperation between the two sides, They hope to continue to intensify it.
Jorge Heine, a professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and a former Chilean ambassador to China, said in a recent article that the initiative is tailored to the development needs of Latin America and is helping to increase the competitiveness of the region. by "enhancing infrastructure and connectivity, both physical and digital."

The Colombian Minister of Transportation, Ángela María Orosco, mentioned, in a recent forum on China-Latin America infrastructural cooperation, the important role of the construction of connectivity projects in job creation and poverty reduction in Colombia, and He hoped to continue strengthening collaboration in this regard.

Peng considered that the development of the infrastructure is of great importance to promote the post-pandemic recovery and to continue strengthening and crystallizing the pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin America.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America has shown great resilience and vitality, and has entered a fast track of development, she said.

Source: Xinhuanet