Xi's visit to promote cooperation among BRICS, enhance ties with LatAm (2)

TO PROMOTE OVERALL CHINA-LATAM TIES

In Brazil, Xi will meet leaders of Latin American and Caribbean nations, exchanging views on regional and international issues of common concern.

This year's summit will mark a milestone in China-Latin America relations, experts say.

The leaders from China and Latin America will announce the official establishment of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) forum, which is expected to hold the first ministerial meeting in Beijing this year.

The CELAC symbolizes unity, independence and development for Latin America. Therefore, the forum will serve as an important platform for promoting relations between China and Latin America.

Based on the principles of mutual-benefit and common development, both sides can, through the platform, discuss a wide range of cooperation on such topics as politics, trade and economy, science and technology, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The upcoming summit and the China-CELAC forum are fruits of the joint efforts by both sides to promote the bilateral relations in recent years.

"Latin America has been an important factor in maintaining world peace and development. It shares a lot in common with China in terms of safeguarding national sovereignty, developing economic cooperation, and seeking a new global political and economic order," said Shen Yun'ao, former Chinese Ambassador to Brazil and Argentina.

China has uplifted the bilateral relations to a strategic level as it issued a white paper on China's ties with Latin America and the Caribbean in 2008.

Heads of state and government attending a CELAC summit in January also agreed to lay a solid foundation for the cooperative mechanism with China.

Trade between China and the region grew more than 20-fold from 12.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 to 261.5 billion in 2013. China is the second largest trade partner and the third largest source of investment for Latin America.

Xi paid his maiden trip to Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago last year as the Chinese president, showing China's willingness to deepen and broaden its ties with Latin American countries.

His second tour to Latin America will deepen mutual trust, expand cooperation and consolidate friendship, said Xu Shicheng, a research fellow of Latin American studies at the CASS.

The opportunities for developing the China-Latin America friendly cooperation are vast, yet with much room for improvement, which requires the joint efforts from both leaders, said Xu Yicong, former Chinese ambassador to Ecuador, Cuba and Argentina.

"Xi's trip to Latin America will give a direct push to the mutually-beneficial and win-win cooperation between the two sides," he said.

Latin America, with vast territories, is rich in resources, and China boasts huge market potential, funds and technology. It serves the strategic interests of both sides to seek all-dimensional, multi-level cooperation based on mutual-benefit and win-win results.

"Both China and Latin America are at the stage of structural transformation and need to learn from each other's experience in development," said Xu, of the CASS.

"Xi's Latin America tour will achieve the goal of promoting the China-Latin America relations," he added.