Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff shake hands in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, on May 19 (XINHUA)
Premier Li Keqiang's trip to four Latin American countries wraps up with fruit borne and expectations high
Involving the lengthiest duration, the farthest distance travelled, and the greatest number of cities visited during any diplomatic tour of his tenure thus far, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's first official visit to Latin America since his inauguration in 2013 garnered much attention both at home and abroad.
Following his nine-day-long state visit to Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile from May 18-26, China-Latin America relations were raised to a new level through the reaching of agreements and consensus on cooperation across a wide span of fields.
In parallel with China's phenomenal growth in the past three decades, trade with Latin America has been on the rise and relations are getting cozier. Last July, during the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit in Brasilia, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a framework for developing China-Latin America relations and cooperating in five distinct areas: politics, economy and trade, culture and people-to-people exchanges, international affairs, as well as multilateral and bilateral relations.
In January, the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum was held in Beijing, during which all parties opened a new chapter in their partnership.
Premier Li's trip to Latin America was seen as a major step toward consolidating relations upon the bedrock laid by previous efforts.
The '3x3' model
Fully aware of the colossal potential benefits of Chinese-Latin American cooperation, Premier Li's recent trip sees him tackling the steps necessary to get the job done
Reaching consensus on cooperation with respect to production capacity was one major theme of Premier Li's four-nation tour. Throughout his trip, Premier Li once again gracefully pitched Chinese technology and manufacturing to overseas markets.
In Brasilia, the first leg of his Latin American trip, Premier Li signed a total of 35 trade agreements worth $27 billion with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. The half-an-hour signing ceremony for contracts and agreements covering mining, technology and finance was attended by industrial and business representatives from both sides.
Premier Li proposed a new 3×3 model of China-Latin America cooperation in production capacity at the China-Brazil Business Summit in Brasilia on May 19. In his opinion, China and Latin American and Caribbean countries could focus on three major fields of logistics, power and information with the end goal of achieving connectivity on the South American continent. He pointed out that both sides could expand financing channels including fund, credit and insurance.
"The new 3×3 model aims to boost the relationship between China and Latin America and the Caribbean countries through cooperation in terms of infrastructure construction and the establishment of joint ventures," Wang Yiwei, Director of the Institute of International Affairs under Beijing-based Renmin University of China, wrote in People's Daily on May 26.
Premier Li also announced at the summit that China will establish a special fund of $30 billion to promote China-Latin America cooperation in production capacity and equipment manufacturing.
In recent years, Brazil has become an increasingly important partner of China in bilateral relations and multilateral affairs, working through organizations such as BRICS, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is also China's biggest trading partner in Latin America. According to statistics of China's General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade between China and Brazil in 2014 totaled $86.67 billion.
The need for industrial cooperation between China and Brazil is strong, as each boasts distinct comparative advantages. During President Xi's visit to Brazil last year, Chinese buyers ordered 60 passenger planes from Embraer S.A., the country's leading airplane producer. The first 22 jets have now passed China's approval procedures upon Premier Li's arrival.
