China offers opportunity for Latin America

China's strength offers an opportunity of complementarity for Latin America, and the region should not waste it again as in other historic periods, Latin American Integration Association (Aladi) Secretary-General Carlos Alvarez said Thursday.

"The strength and vigor" showed by the Asia-Pacific, particularly by China, favors Latin America because the two regions are complementary, the former Argentine vice president said in an interview with Xinhua.

"The revival of China and the Asia-Pacific gives us a new opportunity of complementarity," Alvarez said, "Every relation has opportunities and risks, but this one has much more opportunities than risks."

The Asian giant has become the main export destination of several Latin American countries for years and "has helped very much to the economic growth of the countries," he said, adding the Latin American countries should take advantage of the opportunities.

Despite the moderate regional growth and the economic difficulties faced by some countries in the Latin American region, "we do not see" crisis similar to the ones suffered by the continent in the last decades, the Aladi Secretary-General said.

"What is most important to the region is that there is a strong trend of the emergent economies" led by China, he said, affirming that all countries in the region have accumulated a level of strong international reserves and in general, they have a favorable balance of trade.

Alvarez holds that it will be very difficult for Europe to grow again in the next years and it will be very slow for the United States to recover, therefore the Asia-Pacific, especially China, will "boost the world growth."

He suggested the Latin American countries avoid primary economies and implement strategies for productive diversification.