LatAm experts welcome Xi's focus on economy, new model for China-US ties

MEXICO CITY - Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his first state visit to the United States Friday. Many Latin American observers have lauded Xi's focus on economic cooperation and building a new model for China-US relations, widely expected to benefit the world.

With close ties to both sides, Latin American countries including its biggest economy, Brazil, expect to benefit from the new trend.

This message was delivered in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday, in which Xi said "China has never been absent in efforts to promote world economic recovery, seek political settlement of international and regional hotspots and respond to various global problems and challenges. This is what the international community expects of China, and to do so is China's responsibility."

The message again manifests China's willingness to help friends around the world, especially developing economies, thanks to its own development experience in the areas of infrastructure building, agriculture and energy development among others. While Brazil's economy has been rattled lately due to the Petrobras corruption scandal, a devalued real and predictions of a contracting economy, the announcement in May that China will invest dozens of billions of US dollars in Brazilian infrastructure was welcome news.

In response to Xi's speech and interview, Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center, said that globalization leads to more transparency and cooperation, so that humankind as a whole moves in the direction of prosperity.

"Countries can no longer be isolated without damaging consequences, so a better world does create a better China. President Xi knows well that a better China also created a better world," Lins said.

Concerned over China's slowing growth, Latin American countries are seeking to diversify their export categories and rely less on vulnerable commodities and hydrocarbons.

However, China has helped to reassure these countries by becoming a regular investor in infrastructure across Latin America while also making the region one of the pillars of the internationalization of the yuan.

Last week, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was appointed as the first clearing bank in Argentina for transactions carried out in RMB. During a ceremony in Buenos Aires, ICBC Chairman Jiang Jianqing said that "the move will allow the bank to fulfill its role as a bridge between the two nations."

The possibility of the RMB's conversion into an international reserve currency in Latin America would facilitate trade and investments, Argentine analyst Matias Carugati said in an interview with Xinhua.

Carugati, head economist at consultancy Management & Fit, said this move "would have concrete, long-term benefits. The RMB as a reserve currency could ease trade with China and the investment flows from that country."

Meanwhile, Jorge Castro, an Argentine expert in international relations, said "Xi had the clear intention of improving confidence and advancing economic cooperation" with the United States. He added that China and the United States could work together to build a new model for ties between superpowers, helping the entire world towards stability and growth.

Today's global scenario requires effective cooperation between the world's two economic heavyweights, the United States and China, said Ricardo Rouvier, head of polling and consulting firm Ricardo Rouvier & Associates.

China and the United States' impact on world trade and international relations as well as the challenges posed by climate change are of utmost importance, Rouvier said, adding that the two powers establishing and developing "constructive bilateral ties will lead to global harmony."