Ecuadorian roses are in great demand in Guangzhou, the “City of Flowers” in China. Meanwhile, Cuba and other countries have opened stores on Chinese e-commerce platforms one after the other, and beef from Latin America is pouring into the Chinese market. How is China-Latin America cooperation so strong? Perhaps the answer can be found in a recent interview with former Colombian President Ernesto Samper: “We are on this side of the Pacific Ocean, and we hope that a common development initiative can cross the Pacific Ocean. ” This common development initiative is the “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by China.
There is growing interest in Latin America in jointly building the “Belt and Road” with China. A few days ago, Argentina’s Economy Minister Sergio Massa visited China. China and Argentina signed a cooperation plan to jointly promote the construction of the “Belt and Road”. This is another achievement of China-Argentina cooperation after joining the “Belt and Road” initiative in February last year. It means that the two sides have carried forward cooperation in various fields in a more concrete way. Recently, the 9th China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Infrastructure Cooperation Forum concluded in Macao. The guests present at the meeting are said to have had an in-depth exchange on topics such as high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road”. The “Belt and Road” initiative links China with the rest of the world through a vast network of infrastructure and cooperation, and Latin America is one of them, according to the Latin American News Agency.
According to the latest statistics, the number of countries jointly building the “Belt and Road” between China and Latin America has reached 21. Why is this initiative becoming popular in Latin America? Because the cooperation it promotes has both breadth and depth, bringing real benefits to the peoples of China and Latin America. Currently, China has been Latin America’s second largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years. In 2022, the total trade volume between China and Latin America will reach US$485.79 billion, a new record. It can be seen that the most direct effect of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” is to increase the trade volume between China and Latin America, allowing Latin America to share the dividends of China’s economic development.
In addition, since some Belt and Road Cooperation projects are located in remote areas of Latin American countries, their implementation has directly promoted local development and employment, and improved people’s livelihoods. The “Belt and Road” initiative has provided new impetus to the development of Latin American countries and enhanced their self-development potential. Now, new infrastructure construction is becoming a new highlight of China-Latin America cooperation. At the recently concluded 9th China-Latin America Infrastructure Cooperation Forum, many Latin American participants said that China has advantages in technology and experience, and through the “Belt and Road” cooperation, it has developed green economy, digital economy, high and innovative It has promoted the high-quality development of technical and infrastructure cooperation, and given new impetus to Latin America’s transformation and development.
At present, the world has entered a period of turmoil and change, and economic growth has slowed down significantly. Developing countries generally face more difficulties. Whereas the “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by China emphasizes comprehensive consultation, joint construction and shared benefits and provides them with a sound solution to their development problems. David Mauricio, a scholar at Colombia’s Estelenado University, commented, “Today, we see that countries joining this important initiative have better terms of trade, greater access to foreign markets, higher quality infrastructure, more equal There is greater depth of dialogue and mutual learning between civilizations.” He predicted that the number of countries joining the “Belt and Road” initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean would grow further in the future.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative. China is promoting Chinese-style modernization with high-quality development, which will provide more opportunities for countries around the world, including Latin American countries. In the process, Latin Americans will better understand the true meaning of the local proverb, “A true friend can touch your heart from the other side of the world.”
(Credits-China Media Group, Beijing)
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