Spotlight: Cooperation with China hot topic at CELAC summit

Cooperation with China was a key topic for discussion at the 3rd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that concluded Thursday in Belen, Costa Rica.

Both the Political Declaration of Belen and the 2015 Plan of Action, the two most important documents approved at the gathering by 33 member states, lauded the first China-CELAC forum ministerial meeting held in Beijing on Jan. 8-9, and reiterated that agreements and initiatives of the Beijing meeting should be facilitated as soon as possible.

China and CELAC approved on Jan. 9 three major documents, including the Beijing Declaration, the 2015-2019 five-year plan and regulations for the forum.

The five-year plan defined key areas and specific measures for the overall cooperation from 2015 to 2019 between China and Latin America, covering political security, trade, investment, finance, infrastructure, energy, resources, industry, agriculture, science and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the plan, both sides will strive to achieve a trade volume of 500 billion U.S. dollars and investment of at least 250 billion U.S. dollars within a decade.

The regulations set the rules of the forum, define three regular dialogues between China and CELAC, and provide a system to guarantee the implementation of political consensus and plans.

The political consensuses and direction for the forum have been summarized at the Beijing meeting, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said Wednesday at a press conference.

The most important work that Costa Rica has done during its rotating presidency of the bloc is to launch the forum with China, an all-important partner outside the region, and map out the five-year plan, he said.

The China-CELAC forum will not only contribute to the world's prosperity, but also China-CELAC development and South-South Cooperation.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping said "Every CELAC country, no matter whether it's rich or poor, is equal under the framework of the forum."

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa Delgado, who will head the group over the next 12 months, also said one of the most important achievements yielded during Costa Rica's rotating presidency is that the bloc has strengthened connection with China, which could be regarded as a historical change.

CELAC should continue to consolidate its ties with other blocs and strategic countries, such as China, to achieve development goals, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said at the opening of the summit on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to hold the forum's next meeting in Chile in 2018.

As to the intra-community cooperation and regional development, the Political Declaration of Belens calls on the member states to seek common, equal and sustainable development, participate in global issues, address climate change and global warming, and strengthen cooperation with countries outside the region.

The Plan of Action focuses on "eradicating hunger and poverty on the continent to improve the lives of the 33 countries that form the bloc."

"CELAC must work over the coming years on five central issues, including reducing extreme poverty and inequality, promoting science, technology and innovation, protecting the environment and addressing climate change, financing development and boosting infrastructure and connectivity," Correa said.

At the 3rd CELAC summit, themed "Building Together," CELAC members also requested Washington to lift the embargo against Cuba, declared to step up intra-community cooperation and unity in such fields as poverty eradication, and agreed to promote the peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group.

The 33-member CELAC was founded in December 2011 in Venezuela, comprising all South American countries and some Caribbean states plus Mexico. Endi