Cooperation between China, LatAmerica seeks shared prosperity

LIMA - The cooperation between China and Latin America aims for win-win results and shared prosperity, said a Peruvian economist and a local business leader on Monday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Jorge Arias, a scholar on economics, said "any cooperation project between economies is a noble project...as it seeks peace, co-existence and shared prosperity."

Speaking of the direction of future cooperation between China and Latin America, Arias said Latin American countries should introduce more Chinese investments to promote their industrial diversification.

Peruvian entrepreneur German Guillen is also optimistic about China-Latin America partnership, as the Chinese government has called for "deepening and intensifying ties (with Latin America) in recent decades."

"This has been manifested by an increase in bilateral trade and the opening up of markets, boosted by free trade agreements," he noted.

Bilateral ties have been further boosted by the China-CELAC Cooperation Plan (2015-2019), which was adopted at the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum held in Beijing in January 2015.

The plan, highlighting inclusive growth, sustainable development, reduction of social inequality and diversification of production, called on China to increase investment in the region to $250 billion over the next decade.

"Ties have been boosted, especially in this century, by the three engines (trade, investment and financial cooperation) with focus on the fields of energy, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, science and technology and ICT," said Arias.

He added that despite some political changes in the region, Latin American countries have always underlined their ties with China in hopes of providing more opportunities and better welfare for their citizens.

"For Peru, the visit to China in September by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and the upcoming APEC meeting are very important," said Arias.

The Peruvian government signed a collaboration agreement with China Eastern Airlines on Oct 25. Arias hailed this agreement as a step forward for China-Peru exchanges, as it is expected to bring more Peruvian goods to the lucrative Chinese market.