Interview: Expert says China's policy paper to deepen ties with LatAm

China's newly-issued Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean set out a clear-headed model for cooperation and would further the ties between China and the region, a Mexican expert said Tuesday.

Ulises Granados, coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Studies Program at the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM), told Xinhua in an interview that the policy paper published last month was "very complete," and has covered all areas of cooperation from politics to trade and humanitarian affairs.

The policy paper was the second of its kind Beijing has published since 2008.

"I am particularly interested in the possibility of agreements between the Chinese and Latin American higher education institutes to collaborate on science and technology," said Granados.

The expert noted that "China is making an interesting analysis on how to face the problems of the global South, instead of only focusing on recent changes in the industrialized North, caused by the conservative and isolationist right."

For the academic, the policy paper was also concrete for backing up the "1+3+6" framework for pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The formula, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his visit to Latin America in 2014, suggested "one" plan -- the Chinese-Latin American and Caribbean Cooperation Plan (2015-2019), with the aim of achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development; "three" engines of trade, investment and financial cooperation; and "six" fields as cooperation priorities such as energy and resources, infrastructure construction, agriculture, manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation, and information technology.

Granados also said that the document presents innovative proposals for bilateral cooperation, such as the promotion of the development of communication satellites.

"There are topics which have never been tackled so concretely, such as cooperation in space or oceanography," he noted.

For Granados, the policy paper must now be followed by concrete measures to push forward new projects. A new work timetable is also needed to show the acceleration of Latin American's cooperation with China.

"Let's hope the concrete policies in the document help to empower the bilateral relationship in the coming years," he added. Endi