he fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum was held on May 13 in Beijing, where China called for deeper cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries.
The forum was established in 2015 after Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a State visit to Brazil and attended the first meeting between leaders of China and LAC countries in July, 2014. The forum has 33 members.
The forum has grown into a robust platform for cooperation as China and the CELAC Quartet have held eight rounds of foreign ministerial dialogues to date, alongside more than 100 events covering agricultural production, technological innovation, poverty reduction, green development, disaster response, defense cooperation, think tank exchanges and anti-corruption efforts. Meanwhile, a range of institutional platforms, including the China-LAC Sustainable Food Innovation Center and the China-LAC Technology Transfer Center, have been established to help the forum become a pillar of China-LAC cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the forum, China summarized the successful experience of the development of China-LAC relations, and announced the launch of five programs on solidarity, development, civilization, peace and people-to-people connectivity, as well as advancing shared development and revitalization and contributing to a China-LAC community with a shared future.
Against the backdrop of mounting global challenges, China and LAC countries have benefited greatly from practical cooperation across many fields. Trade between China and LAC countries doubled in the past decade, reaching US$518.4 billion in 2024. Over 200 infrastructure projects and multiple industrial projects built by China have generated over one million jobs in the region.
The China-LAC satellite cooperation program has set a model for high-tech South-South cooperation. The inauguration of Chancay Port in Peru has established a new land-and-sea connectivity link between Asia and Latin America. China has also signed free trade agreements with Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
More than 20 countries have synergized development strategies with China under the Belt and Road cooperation framework. On May 14, Colombia, the latest, signed a cooperation plan with China on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.
At the opening ceremony of the meeting, Xi claimed that China is willing to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to implement the Global Development Initiative, firmly safeguard the multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, and safeguard an open and cooperative international environment. He added that China will import more high-quality products from Latin American and Caribbean countries and encourage Chinese enterprises to expand investment in the region.
When meeting with visiting leaders from Brazil, Chile and Colombia, Xi stressed that China-LAC cooperation is an important part of South-South cooperation and that it conforms to the general trend of world development and historical trends, and it is in line with the common interests of China and LAC countries.
Leaders from the respective sides witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements.
Xi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met the press together and signed a joint statement on Strengthening the Building of a China-Brazil Community with a Shared Future for a More Just World and a More Sustainable Planet and on Jointly Upholding Multilateralism, and another on the Ukraine Crisis.
China has announced a visa-free policy for citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay as of June 1, and will expand the policy to cover more countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in due course.
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