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Interview: China's policy paper on Latin America serves to bolster ties -- analysts

Xinhua, December 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

China's recently released Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean serves to strengthen ties between the two regions, analysts said.

Nadia Radulovich and Maria Cecilia Peralta, co-founders of the Argentine consulting group Asia Viewers, regard the document as a tool to generate, expand and improve a joint strategy for ties.

"The new document seeks to boost bilateral commitment through cooperation in various areas such as the economy, manufacturing, science and technology, information, investment and foreign trade, and take the comprehensive and cooperative partnership between China and Latin America to new heights," they said.

"The policy paper also underscores the potential to build on the existing relationship between the two regions," said the two experts, who serve as consultants to the Argentine Council for International Relations on China-related matters.

"The possibilities for exchange and cooperation between the parties are numerous, such as partnerships for comprehensive cooperation," they said.

In 2015, trade exchange between China and Latin America reached 236.5 billion U.S. dollars, according to Chinese statistics. The country has free-trade agreements with several regional countries such as Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.

The concerted growth came largely in the wake of China's first policy paper on Latin America issued in 2008.

In 2016, regional ties made more headway, including on the cultural front, with the Year of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange.

Today, China stands as the second largest trading partner and third largest foreign investor in the region, while Latin America is China's seventh biggest trade partner and a leading destination for Chinese foreign investment.

The consultants said financial cooperation regarding infrastructure, energy, trade, agriculture and joint food security will serve as the axis of China-Latin American ties in the coming years.

"We underscored the importance of studying and analyzing the document so our region can also adhere to the new Chinese commitment and make the most of the possibilities this new phase in relations can generate," the experts said. Endi