The role of China, South America's main global partner, is expected to be strengthened in Latin American development, leading Argentine scholar Nicolas Trotta said.
China's role will affect not only Argentina, but the region as a whole, said the head of Argentina's Metropolitan University for Education and Work in an interview with Xinhua.
"Putting Argentina on the path to equitable development calls for an ambitious and multidimensional agenda that has a strategy of boosting integration and connectivity with the world," said Trotta.
"Our country must consolidate its ties with the Latin American region, by strengthening (integration into) blocs such as Mercosur (the Southern Common Market) and Unasur (the Union of South American Nations), fostering complementarity between economies of South American countries, expanding the region's energy and connectivity infrastructure, and promoting shared processes of innovation," he said.
He believes this is where leading partners, including both Argentina and China, are needed for the region.
The year 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Argentina and China, a relationship that has been lifted to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Trotta urged efforts to "forge greater complementarity," mutual benefits and technology transfers to facilitate "full development of our economies."
"In the short term, China's pledge to invest in key infrastructure, such as energy, railroads and connectivity, is essential, as is the presence of Chinese companies in countries in our region," he said.@ "Argentina and South America need China to strengthen their development. Likewise, China needs our countries to bolster the construction of a multilateral world," he added.
The development of relations between China and Latin America made steady headway in 2016, including on the cultural front, thanks to the year of China-Latin America cultural exchange.
Currently, China is the region's second largest trade partner and third largest source of investment, while Latin America is China's seventh largest trade partner and a leading overseas destination for Chinese investment.
Trotta believes "the crisis of globalization offers an opportunity for South America and China to consolidate ties, transforming them into a central axis of shared development, accompanied by a common outlook on global geopolitics."
