Building a China Latin America Cooperation Platform to Share World Development Opportunities

On July 24th, a reporter from China Trade Daily learned from the promotion event of the 16th China Latin American Entrepreneurs Summit and the first China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo that the summit will be held in Beijing from November 2nd to 3rd.
It is understood that this summit is jointly hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Beijing Municipal People's Government, and jointly organized by the Beijing Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China International Chamber of Commerce. The summit will feature the theme of "open innovation and shared development", with main segments including the opening ceremony, plenary meetings, parallel meetings, welcome dinner and flag handover ceremony. At the same time, a series of supporting activities will also be held, including round tables for trade promotion institutions, think tank cooperation forums, enterprise docking, boutique exhibitions, visits and inspections.
Zhang Shaogang, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, stated that in recent years, China Latin America economic and trade cooperation has developed comprehensively, and the two sides have achieved remarkable results in cooperation in trade, investment, and contracting projects. At present, China is the second largest trading partner in Latin America, and Latin America has become the second largest destination for China's overseas investment and the third largest market for contracted projects. We hope to further deepen the consensus on economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America through the holding of the 16th Summit, tap into the potential of economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America, and promote practical cooperation between the two sides to a new level
Guo Huaigang, Director of the Beijing Council for the Promotion of International Trade, introduced that Beijing, as the capital, political center, cultural center, advanced communication center, and technological innovation center of China, has a demonstration and leading role in promoting China Latin America cooperation. Especially as an international metropolis, Beijing has a large market that serves the whole country and faces the world, gathers international high-end elements, and gathers scientific and technological talents. This will be conducive to promoting the expansion of China Latin America economic and trade cooperation to faster areas and moving towards higher levels.
The head of the Latin American and Caribbean countries' missions to China and the Uruguayan Ambassador to China, Luis Lugris, stated that Latin American and Caribbean countries have a very deep cooperative relationship with China in areas such as trade, investment, and finance, and should continue to maintain the momentum of cooperation in these areas. The embassies of Latin American and Caribbean countries in China are always willing to communicate and exchange with Chinese enterprises, bringing Latin American enterprises into China, allowing them to feel the friendly business environment here while capturing business opportunities. They are also willing to bring Chinese enterprises to the Latin American region to bring more opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

The reporter learned from the event site that in recent years, with the continuous deepening of economic and trade exchanges between China and Latin America, fields such as digital economy, agricultural economy and trade, cultural tourism, and green economy are expected to become new highlights of bilateral cooperation. As the host city of this summit, Beijing has unique advantages in the aforementioned fields and its role in China Latin America economic and trade exchanges is also increasing day by day.

Currently, Latin American governments are committed to improving the level of digital infrastructure. Beijing focuses on building a global digital economy benchmark city, with mature technology and rich experience in the field of digital infrastructure, and can provide high-quality digital infrastructure services for Latin America. Latin America is also one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world. The development of digital infrastructure between China and Latin America will provide great convenience for cross-border e-commerce, promote the coordinated development of cross-border e-commerce and related industries between China and Latin America, and provide new momentum and channels for the high-quality development of bilateral trade.
Latin America has abundant arable land resources and superior production conditions, especially as South American countries are important agricultural production areas in the world, providing 25% of the world's food, 34% of oil crops, 25% of fruits, 31% of meat, and 24% of milk. Beijing is building an international consumption center city and is one of the largest and most intensive high-end agricultural product consumption markets in the world. There is a strong demand for high-quality agricultural products, and Beijing enterprises are also increasing their interest in investing in Latin American agriculture, expanding their investment scale.
Latin America is rich in solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, Geothermal energy and biomass energy resources, and has broad prospects for renewable energy development. The green energy industry is one of the characteristic and advantageous industries that Beijing focuses on developing. Its overall technological level and industrialization ability are leading in the country, and it has a good foundation for cooperation in the field of green and low-carbon transformation with Latin America. The demand potential for new energy vehicle markets in Latin American countries is also significant, with more and more Chinese automobile manufacturers choosing to establish factories in Latin America. The cooperation in the automotive industry chain between the two sides continues to deepen. Beijing is the largest research and application center for new energy vehicles in China, providing superior conditions for cooperation in the new energy vehicle industry between China and Latin America.
At the recommendation part of the Chain Expo on the same day, Lin Shunjie, Chairman of China International Exhibition Center Group, said that the agricultural supply chain cooperation between China and Latin American countries is very resilient. The combination of China's capital, market, technology, and management with the advantages of the agricultural natural environment in Latin America can greatly promote the sustainable development of agriculture in Latin America, while also promoting the development of agricultural product processing industries, port trade processing zones, and transportation logistics. Currently, China has entered the era of great health, and Chinese consumers place great emphasis on food safety and peace of mind, paying attention to consumption in the field of health. Latin American countries attach great importance to green agricultural production methods, which is in line with China's new consumer values. Agricultural, animal husbandry, and food companies in Latin American countries have more opportunities than ever to expand the Chinese market. Relevant Latin American enterprises can gain more upstream and downstream partners in the supply chain by demonstrating strict quality control systems and efficient supply chain management capabilities at the Chain Expo.
It is understood that the China Latin American Entrepreneurs Summit was initiated and established by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in 2007. It is China's first institutional platform for promoting economic and trade cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2015, it became a sub forum in the economic and trade field under the framework of the China Latin American Community Forum. The summit is held alternately between China and Latin American countries, and has been held for 15 times in China, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Panama, and Ecuador. It is known as the flagship brand of practical cooperation between China and Latin America. The first China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo was hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and organized by China International Exhibition Center Group Co., Ltd. It is also the first national level exhibition with the theme of supply chain in the world.