Exchanges and cooperation are vital to a new partnership

Despite disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries has continued at an accelerated pace, former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle said at the Fourth Dialogue Between the Civilizations of China and Latin America and the Caribbean on October 22.

He was echoed by Ma Peihua, former Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who stressed that in a complex and volatile world, it is never a sustainable solution for countries to detach themselves from the international community. Developing countries, including China and LAC nations, need to work together, support one another, and conduct cooperation and exchanges.

Only in this way can we overcome obstacles and achieve common development, Ma added.

Both China and LAC nations are developing countries with time-honored civilizations, and they are at similar stages of development and shoulder common tasks, Du Zhanyuan, President of China International Communications Group (CICG), said at the forum. "Faced with issues such as economic recovery, pandemic prevention, climate change and poverty alleviation, both sides should act on the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness, learn from each other and seek solutions to common challenges," he concluded. 

The forum was organized by a number of organizations, including the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS) under CICG, the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Government, with the International Poverty Reduction Center in China and the CICG Center for Americas as supporting partners. During the two-day event, participants discussed topics ranging from social governance and public health to digital society, providing suggestions on how to enhance teamwork, people-to-people interactions and the mutual understanding between China and LAC countries as well as sharing experiences to boost common development.

Intensified cooperation 

Li Jinzhang, former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, said relations between China and LAC nations have made great achievements in recent decades, and the relationship today has opened up a new chapter in the quest for all-round development. 

China is now the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean as this region has become the second most important overseas investment destination of the Asian country. "The mutual role of China and LAC countries as economic and trade stabilizers has become increasingly evident. Although bilateral trade declined in the first quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it began to pick up shortly thereafter and China's imports from LAC nations in that period increased 1 percent," Frei stated.

He continued that one of the greatest challenges looming ahead is the fight against poverty, as it is estimated in preliminary figures that some 8 percent of the world's population might be living in poverty following the pandemic. "Cooperation is vital to overcome this trial and requires a broad consensus for the implementation of forward-looking policies in our countries to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth that is permanently maintained and impartial," he said.

An online forum to promote the exchange of poverty reduction know-how between China and LAC countries took place in October this year. Promoting exchange and sharing experiences in poverty reduction and development are not only an important part of the dialogue between China and LAC nations, but also a practical measure to forge a new type of partnership between the two sides, Tan Weiping, Deputy Director General of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, said.

Both sides should deepen cooperation in areas such as agricultural science and technology, biodiversity protection and clean energy to contribute to addressing global challenges and improving the wellbeing of our peoples, Frei elaborated.

According to him, trade with China accounts for nearly 40 percent of Chile's total imports and exports, and Chinese investment in infrastructure, the energy sector and electric vehicles are among the highest. "We are discussing how to strengthen cooperation in 5G deployment, astronomy and other fields," he said.

China and Colombia have also strengthened their friendship amid the pandemic. Donations of protective supplies worth $1.5 million from China, and the purchase of China-made medical equipment that allowed Colombia to expand its intensive care units, have helped save many lives, Luis Diego Monsalve, Colombian Ambassador to China, said."We have been able to form a close connection through the purchase of vaccines. The 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines purchased from China have made a decisive contribution to our vaccination plan," he added.

Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Representative for Latin American Affairs of the Chinese Government, said in the post-pandemic era, China and LAC countries should give precedence to development. "By taking people-centered approaches, we should try to benefit all, be inclusive and achieve sustainable and innovative progress," Qiu said.

Closer connections 

Brazilian Ambassador to China Paulo Estivallet de Mesquita said people-to-people exchanges are of vital importance in China-Brazil relations. "Brazil has been working hard to promote our culture and soon we will launch a new edition of the Brazilian film festival across various Chinese cities," he stated, adding that given language serves as a bridge to bring the two peoples closer, Brazil is working to boost Portuguese teaching in China. Currently, many of the Portuguese courses offered at 57 Chinese universities are taught by Brazilian teachers.

Exchanges among civilizations not only help enhance mutual understanding and trust, but also help draw on each other's solutions, entailing essential support for the steady and long-term thriving of the China-Latin American community with a shared future, Wang Linggui, Vice President of the CASS, said.

The two sides should strengthen the sharing of experiences and knowledge for development. "We should prioritize mutual learning in areas where consensus is easiest to reach and where both sides are most concerned," he explained.

A recent report released by ACCWS shows that Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Brazil are all in the eight countries with the most favorable views of China worldwide, demonstrating the solid public support for bilateral interactions, Li Yafang, President of the CICG Center for Americas, said.

With their geographical distance, China and LAC countries have different cultures and values. For that reason, media exchanges and cooperation are of great importance to promote the dialogue between them, she said."In the future, we should consolidate our information sharing and create authentic and objective media products both populations can access," Li added.

Beijing Declaration 

"This forum has become an important platform to facilitate exchanges and interactions between the two sides, which in turn has helped to achieve more in economic and trade cooperation," Liu Jiandong, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Government, said."For example, XCMG Construction Machinery, China's top construction machinery producer, has played a significant role in Brazil's economic recovery."

According to the Beijing Declaration released at the closing ceremony of this year's forum, it is the common aspiration of all parties to carry out dialogue as well as enhance mutual understanding and learning. All sides aim to reinforce the friendly exchanges between local governments and promote mutually beneficial cooperation across multiple fields.

"We welcome the intention to enrich the scope of dialogue, involve more participants and work together to establish a cooperative network around the forum," it reads. At the same time, all sides seek to promote the construction of mechanisms related to the forum and to explore the possibility of hosting it in the LAC region when appropriate.

The declaration recommends "a platform for knowledge exchange and cooperation between China and LAC countries in the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, to foster common development."

The document concludes by citing the hopes that all sides will "continue to promote exchanges and share development experiences, making China and LAC countries fine examples of the harmonious coexistence and mutual enhancements between civilizations."