China Focus: Increasing cooperation between China, Latin America

In June, Luo Xi returned to his hometown of Chengdu from Ecuador, where a hydropower station he helped design finally started operating.

For the previous six years, Luo had spent about 200 days each year in the Latin America country, helping with a project for his employer, Chengdu Engineering Corp. Ltd. under the state Power Construction Corp. of China.

"There were tough days when we struggled to deal with suspicion toward us and lots of different ideas," Luo told Xinhua. "But we made it eventually."

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his visit to Ecuador on Friday. Xi arrived in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito Thursday afternoon for a state visit to the country as part of his third visit to Latin America since he took office in 2013.

In a joint statement issued after the talks between the two presidents on Thursday, China and Ecuador agreed to lift their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Also in the statement, the two countries agreed to boost cooperation in production capacity, as well as economic and trade areas, and pledged to implement major projects in oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, water conservation, communications and finance, and explore cooperation in agriculture, the petrochemical industry, ship building, metallurgy and paper-making industries.

For Luo Xi, the increase in visits between state leaders means more trust and cooperation between Chinese companies and those in Latin America.

"When we arrived in Ecuador in 2011, local people did not know Chinese manufacturing and Chinese commodities well, and they tended to trust American, European and Japanese manufacturers," Luo said. "So when we submitted our project design, they were doubtful."

Luo said after his team received a feedback report thicker than his design report, he did not know what to do next.

"We had advanced manufacturing technology," Luo said. "We had to take measures to mitigate misunderstanding."

So Luo brought excellent designers to conferences with local company representatives and explained their designs in detail, which eventually won the trust of supervisors and Ecuadorian companies and helped form friendships.

"We were invited to their Christmas parties, and we brought hot pot seasonings from Chengdu as gifts for them," Luo said.

China's investment and financing in Ecuador has exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars so far, with a variety of projects constructed or under construction, including eight hydropower stations and more than 10 highways.

Economic exchanges have also been increasing between China and other Latin America countries.

In 2009, the Chilean chemical mining company SQM invested 14 million U.S. dollars to build a fertilizer company in Chengdu in partnership with China's Migao Corp. This year, Chengdu's Tianqi Lithium Co. Ltd invested about 300 million U.S. dollars in establishing a mining and chemical company in Chile.

Chinese companies have also trained skilled workers from Latin America.

"We have trained for free hundreds of professionals in engineering, construction and management from Chile, Peru and Venezuela," said Tan Meng, senior engineer with China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd.

Last month, ambassadors to China from four Latin American countries expressed hope for more cooperation with western China at a conference.

"We look forward to establishing more cooperation relationships with the region in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism," said Jorge Heine, rotating president of the Pacific Alliance and Chile's ambassador to China. "We also welcome more companies from western China to invest in Latin America."

The ambassadors also briefed investors on agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing in their countries.

Oscar Rueda, Colombia's ambassador to China, said that his country plans to build a series of airports, ports and roads.

"I hope that more Chinese companies will invest in the projects," he said.

Jorge Heine said that the four embassies will create more opportunities for companies from western China to invest in Latin America, as well as provide consulting services and information.

"I see a bright future for China and Latin America's cooperation," said Luo Xi. Endi