China-CELAC Forum to send unity message

President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a speech at the opening ceremony on Tuesday of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum, a gathering that is expected to send a message of unity and cooperation from both sides to jointly address global challenges.

Foreign ministers or representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as heads of relevant regional organizations, will attend the meeting.

Xi will review the development of China-LAC relations and propose new initiatives in his speech, and he will also host a luncheon for guests from Latin American and Caribbean countries, Assistant Foreign Minister Miao Deyu said at a news briefing on Sunday.

Two key documents are expected to be adopted at the meeting — one is a Beijing declaration to reaffirm both sides' commitment to peace, development and cooperation, while the other is a joint action plan outlining specific initiatives in areas such as technology, trade, investment, infrastructure and Belt and Road cooperation.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China-CELAC Forum, the first multilateral platform that includes China and all 33 independent countries in the region. Miao said it represents a significant milestone in China-LAC cooperation.

Since 2013, Xi has visited Latin America and the Caribbean six times and has frequently met with leaders in the region through bilateral and multilateral engagements, leading the China-LAC relations to a new stage that features equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and benefits for the people.

To date, three ministerial-level meetings and over 100 subforums covering 31 fields have been held within the framework of the forum.

"China views Latin America and the Caribbean as vital parts of the Global South and significant forces for upholding world peace and development, endowed with vast development potential and a promising future," Miao said at the briefing.

"Despite the geographic distance, the friendship between both peoples runs deep. China has always approached the relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective," he added.

As global attention once again turns to China-LAC relations, Miao reiterated China's policy stance, saying that equality is the defining feature of the relationship, and mutual respect and equal treatment have enabled both sides to chart a path of state-to-state cooperation.

He emphasized that LAC countries are not anyone's "backyard".

"What the people of Latin America and the Caribbean seek are independence and self-determination, not the so-called 'new Monroe Doctrine'," he said.

Miao also underscored that China-LAC cooperation is a model of South-South collaboration, free of geopolitical games, exclusive blocs and zero-sum thinking.

Cui Shoujun, founder and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Renmin University of China, said the development of China-LAC relations neither targets any third party nor is influenced by third parties, and that LAC countries have demonstrated growing enthusiasm for cooperation with China.

The two sides now enjoy ?strong economic and trade complementarity and ?vast cooperation potential in critical minerals, infrastructure, industrial and supply chains, renewable energy and high-tech sectors, Cui added.

Over 20 countries in the region have joined the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, more than 200 infrastructure projects have been implemented, generating over 1 million jobs.

China has long been the region's second-largest trading partner. In 2024, trade volume between China and LAC countries surpassed $500 billion, a fortyfold increase from the volume recorded in 2000.

To date, China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with seven countries in the region, while citizens of Brazil, Argentina and Chile are among those who enjoy the benefits of China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy.

China and LAC countries account for one-fifth of the world's landmass, one-fourth of the global population and one-fourth of global GDP, making the combined region among the most dynamic and promising worldwide.

"The trans-Pacific supersized market of 2 billion people, jointly formed by China and LAC countries, serves as an indestructible bulwark against any containment or suppression, while providing inexhaustible momentum for our shared development and revitalization," Assistant Foreign Minister Miao said.

China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with LAC countries to safeguard multilateralism and reject unilateralism and economic bullying, he added.?

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn

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