China proposes cooperation with Latin America in the period of ‘geopolitical confrontation and protectionism’

The president of ChinaXI Jinping, proposed on Tuesday (13) a narrower relationship and cooperation with the Latin America and the Caribbean in a period of “geopolitical confrontation” and “protectionism” in a criticism directed to the United States. Beijing receives rulers and delegations from Latin American and Caribbean countries to the IV China-Celac Ministerial Forum (Latin American and Caribbean States Community), an opportunity to approach trade with the United States.

In the last decade, China has intensified economic and political cooperation with a region that has been called a “yard” from the United States. Celac was founded in December 2011 and brings together 33 countries. China is the main commercial partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile. The country makes significant investments under the Cinturão and Rota Initiative Program, which received the adhesion of two thirds of the Latin American countries. Trade between China and the region last year surpassed the $ 500 billion mark (2.83 trillion reais) for the first time, “40 times more than at the beginning of the century,” celebrated Xi.

“Long History of Friendship”

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the region became an important battlefield in the Republican conflict with Beijing. Many countries are pressured by Washington to choose one side. At the opening of the Forum, with the presence of the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Chile, Xi celebrated the increasingly narrow relationship and criticized “persecution and hegemony” exercised by other countries.

“Although China is far from the Latin American region and the Caribbean, the two parts have a long history of friendship,” he said in the forum’s opening speech. The Chinese president has proposed several initiatives to “build a Sino-Latin American community with a shared future,” as a $ 9.2 billion fund (52 billion) in development credits.

“Confronted with the stream of geopolitical confrontation and blocks, the height of unilateralism and protectionism, China wants to join its hands with Latin America,” he said. After citing “Global Peace and Stability”, Xi also proposed greater cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, mining, digital economy or clean energy, the creation of training programs, as well as working with the region in counterattack and in the fight against organized crime.

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Chinese chancellor Wang Yi said, not expressly mentioning the United States, that “certain world power” is “obsessed” with the law of the strongest. Yi encouraged Latin American countries to “act hand in hand” with Beijing to defend their rights to a power that “uses tariffs as a weapon to intimidate other countries.”

*With information from AFP