BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- CELAC stands for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. It was created in February 2010 and has 33 member countries, representing roughly 590 million people. Cooperation with China follows the trend of history.
In 2008, the Chinese government proposed building a comprehensive and cooperative partnership with Latin American countries.
China’s influence in Latin America and the Caribbean has been growing swiftly, following a deepening of trade and economic relations.
China is now Latin America's second largest trading partner and third largest source of investment. Latin America has become a major energy and resource supplier as well as an investment destination of Chinese enterprises. In 2012, two-way trade increased over 8 percent to over 261 billion US dollars.
In January 2013, at the CELAC summit held in the Chilean capital Santiago, leaders instructed their foreign ministers to begin efforts to create a China-CELAC cooperation forum.
One year later, at the second CELAC Summit held in Cuba, the Special Declaration on the Establishment of the China-CELAC Forum was adopted.
In July 2014 the China-CELAC Forum was officially launched during President Xi Jinping's visit to Latin America.
China promised 10 billion dollars in credit to CELAC members, and pledged 5 billion dollars for a Chinese-Latin American investment fund.
President Xi said the founding of the forum would have a profound impact on the future development of relations. He said it would send out a strong signal of commitment to strengthening unity and coordination and promoting South-South cooperation.
Experts say given the uniqueness of Latin American politics, economy, and international relations, cooperation between China and CELAC should innovate new policy tools, instead of simply copying successful experiences of other mechanisms.
(Source: CNTV.com)
|
