Foreign and Military Affairs

China 'not a threat' in L. America

By Zhang Ting (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-19 08:17

Related video: China 'not a threat' in L. America

BEIJING - The United States does not view China as a threat and Washington is in talks with Beijing on cooperation in Latin America, long considered America's backyard, a senior US official said on Wednesday.

While China's trade share in Latin America is small, the potential is huge and there are many areas of possible cooperation between China and the US, Arturo Valenzuela, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told China Daily.

However, "we are talking generally we haven't come up with any concrete steps", said the US official, who arrived on Monday for a five-day China tour.

The Obama administration's top diplomat for Latin America said he regarded China joining the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as well as being an official observer at the Organization of American States (OAS) as positive moves.

The IDB is the prime source of multilateral financing and expertise for sustainable economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean region, while the OAS promotes social and economic development.

Arturo Valenzuela?

"We are talking with China about further cooperation with both of those institutions," he said.

Valenzuela was in Beijing for the fourth round of talks between China and the US on Western Hemisphere issues under the framework of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The talks ended on Monday.

"We don't see China as a threat," Valenzuela said, when asked whether China will compete with the US in Latin America.

Valenzuela stated the point when he met reporters in Beijing earlier in the day.

"It (China) certainly is not of concern, it certainly is not a threat."

China has strong ties with both Cuba and Venezuela, neither of which are close to the US.

"In fact, we see China providing Latin America with many more opportunities to grow their economies, to provide better jobs, to increase the standard of living ... We both benefit from a stable, prosperous Latin America that engages much more in world trade," he said.

"So this is a win-win for both countries."

Valenzuela also expressed his hopes that the US would cooperate with China in disaster relief.

"Indeed, disaster response is one of the topics that we have discussed with the Chinese government where we might be able to cooperate in Latin America and the Caribbean ..." he said.

Chinese experts said the US gesture was a positive move.

Valenzuela's remarks "showed that the US wants to include China into its Western Hemisphere system," said Sun Hongbo, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The US wants China to help in areas such as social inequality, poverty and security issues, Sun said.

Qi Fengtian, a colleague of Sun, said that Valenzuela's remarks were conducive to strengthening mutual trust.

Relations between Beijing and Washington are stable as a whole, he noted, despite recent disputes on issues ranging from the ongoing US-South Korea navy drill in the Yellow Sea, to territorial disputes between China and some Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea.

China's trade with Latin American countries accounts for just 5 percent of its trade worldwide, compared with 40 percent for the US, Valenzuela said.

"We look forward to an increase in China's interest in Latin America, greater investment in Latin America, greater trade with Latin America," he said.

Valenzuela is scheduled to travel to Shanghai and visit Expo.

Dong Jidong contributed to this story.