Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday pledged to increase cooperation with the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean as he opened a forum in Beijing with leaders from 30 countries from those areas.
The China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) gathering comes as Beijing pushes for more influence in what has traditionally been Washington’s “backyard,” and as many in the area look to the Asian nation to offset the US’ dominance there.
“China will focus on overall cooperation with Latin American countries and this forum will build a deepening discussion,” Xi said in a speech televised live from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
“Expanding cooperation discussions at this forum will determine deepening integration with Latin America in the next five years in fields including security, trade, finance, technology, energy, resources, industry and agriculture,” he said.
Xi also reiterated a plan first mentioned during a tour of Latin America last year to raise annual trade to US$500 billion within a decade and to increase direct Chinese investment in the area to US$250 billion.
However, in a sign that the meeting was not entirely about trade, Xinhua news agency made it clear that China wants to increase its influence in the region.
The forum will “offer another chance for China to promote its vision and contribute to international affairs,” Xinhua said in a commentary. “China is seeking a greater say in promoting a harmonious international order.”
Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said cooperation between Latin America and China had entered a “new era.”
China’s trade with Latin America rose to nearly US$242 billion in the first 11 months of last year. Beijing is constantly on the lookout for resources to power its economy — the world’s second largest — and earlier pledged to invest US$20 billion in oil-rich Venezuela, Caracas’ AVN news agency said, citing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Oil has lost more than half its value since June last year, owing to a glut in global supply and slowing growth in major world economies that has hurt demand.
Analysts say Venezuela — which supplies China, its second-biggest customer, with 640,000 barrels a day — is on the brink of a debt default, as it struggles to pay its bills while maintaining its lavish subsidies, oil discounts to allies and system of rigid foreign-exchange controls.
“We scooped up more than US$20 billion in investment,” AVN quoted Maduro as saying after talks with Xi on Wednesday, adding that the sweeping investment covers a wide range of areas, including technology, housing and urban planning.
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, whose economy has also been hammered by falling oil prices, is also in Beijing for the forum and secured a deal to borrow US$7.5 billion from China, Ecuadoran Minister of Finance Fausto Herrera said.
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