Invitation to a better future

China's third Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean proposes the two sides working together to realize a community with a shared future

In December, the Chinese government released its third Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean. This is far more than an update of its foreign policy. At a time when globalization faces headwinds and the world order is undergoing profound adjustment, this document is a strategic blueprint outlining practical pathways for China and Latin America and the Caribbean to jointly build a community with a shared future. It marks the transition of the relationship between China and LAC from a comprehensive partnership with economic and trade cooperation as the ballast to a new strategic stage of "writing a new chapter in building a China-LAC community with a shared future".

This is built upon a solid and continuously evolving foundation of cooperation. It solemnly reaffirms the fundamental principle of "equality, mutual benefit and common development" that has run consistently through the relations between the two sides and upholds mutual respect for each other's development paths and core interests. Reviewing the journey of China-LAC cooperation — from the first policy paper in 2008 that advocated efforts to "expand and balance two-way trade", to the emphasis on "production capacity cooperation" in 2016, and then to the commitment in 2025 to "deepening high-quality Belt and Road cooperation", "promoting sound and balanced trade and fostering a diversified trade structure" — the evolution in terminology clearly reveals that the orientation of cooperation has shifted from pursuing scale accumulation to forging quality, efficiency, resilience and sustainability. Therefore, this latest document proposes jointly moving toward a more substantive and risk-resilient development model.

The clean energy projects undertaken by China Energy Engineering Group in countries such as Argentina and Brazil are a vivid footnote to this upgrading of cooperation quality. Through integrated solutions, these projects not only export Chinese capital and technology, but also promote the optimization and sustainable development of local energy structures.

The document also presents a clear and systematic framework for action. Five programs — solidarity, development, civilization, peace and people-to-people connectivity — are to be the pillars supporting the advancement of the shared development and revitalization. This moves beyond merely listing cooperation areas to focus on institution-building and resource integration, the construction of mechanisms and the integration of resources, aiming to provide valuable and sustainable impetus for cooperation. Particularly noteworthy is the proactive alignment with China's four global initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. This indicates that the stage of China-Latin America cooperation has expanded beyond bilateral dimensions to become an exemplary window where both sides jointly practice multilateralism, work to improve global governance and defend international fairness and justice. For instance, promoting local currency settlement and currency swaps in the financial sector and advocating global artificial intelligence governance in the digital economy are concrete manifestations to jointly shape the future international order.

The document also focuses on cutting-edge technological and people-centered areas, concentrating cooperation on the core driving forces leading the future and important issues concerning people's well-being. The cooperation in cutting-edge technology fields such as the digital economy, AI, clean energy and aerospace technology, aims to boost LAC countries' scientific, technological and industrial development, contributing to sustained advancement in the fields of science and technology. For example, Huawei's in-depth deployment of 5G networks and digital ecosystems in the LAC region, BYD's investment in the electric vehicle industry chain in Brazil and the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite program all demonstrate that this cooperation is not merely technology transfer but also capacity co-building, opening doors for jointly exploring the frontiers of human science and technology. At the same time, the "Civilization Program" and "People-to-People Connectivity Program" place people-to-people and cultural exchanges at an unprecedented strategic height. By deepening cooperation in education (eg, the Luban Workshop program), health (eg, free medical consultations), culture (eg, an upcoming conference on inter-civilizational dialogue) and sub-national exchanges (eg, the Local Government Cooperation Forum), the soil for mutual understanding is meticulously cultivated.

The policy document is in line with the times and grounded in the complex needs of the present. Oriented toward a community with a shared future, it invites LAC countries to transcend traditional geopolitical games and short-term transactional logic, and to jointly engage in a great endeavor encompassing political mutual trust, economic integration, cultural exchanges, security cooperation and improvement of people's wellbeing.

The document therefore heralds a new stage in China-LAC relations characterized by greater strategic mutual trust, more innovative vitality and more equality and justice. However, it is not only about China and LAC; it is also an important practice of the Global South standing in solidarity to advance the building of a more just and equitable global governance system. Facing challenges such as global supply chain restructuring and trade protectionism, China and LAC, by deepening industry and supply chains cooperation, jointly enhance their voice and representation in global economic governance. Accepting this invitation for building a community with a shared future means that China and LAC will join hands to forge a new path toward a world of lasting peace, universal security, common development, openness and inclusiveness, and a clean and beautiful environment.

The author is an associate professor at the Institute of International and Regional Studies and a researcher at the Center for Latin American Studies at Sun Yat-sen University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.