BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- From the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to the Belt and Road Initiative, from the "1+3+6" framework for pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries to the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the "China Solution" is becoming a new approach for the Sino-Latin American economic and trade cooperation and deepening relations of the two sides, say analysts.
-- AIIB, B&R attracting more Latin American countries
Over the past two years, the AIIB has approved more than 20 investment projects with the total investment exceeding 3.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Recently, the AIIB has approved accession of a new batch of prospective members including Ecuador to the bank.
Marcelo Fernandez, a former deputy foreign affairs minister of Ecuador, said that Ecuador's accession to the AIIB is the significant progress in the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnerships between Ecuador and China and will offer more financing channels for their cooperative projects.
Latin American countries' accession to the AIIB conforms to their own development needs and also represents their positive responses to China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, said Wang Ping, director of the Center for Latin America Studies of the Nankai University, adding that the Latin American countries generally face the problem of backward infrastructure dragging down economic development. One of the important roles of the AIIB is to finance major infrastructure projects. They expect infrastructure investment from the AIIB to offer a major driving force for their sustainable economic development.
In June 2017, China and Panama officially established diplomatic ties. During his visit to China in November last year, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said that Panama is willing to take advantage of its unique location and play a positive role in extending the cooperation under the Belt & Road Initiative in Latin America.
Panama is an important transport hub in the Western Hemisphere. Establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Panama has offered convenience for the Sino-Latin American cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative. It is of important significance to promote the overall cooperation between the two sides, said Yue Yunxia, a researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
-- Rising Sino-Latin American trade
Under the "1+3+6" framework, China and Latin American countries have achieved a lot in their economic and trade cooperation in recent years.
The "1+3+6" framework for pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries refers to "one" plan -- the Chinese-Latin American and Caribbean Cooperation Plan (2015-2019), with the aim of achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development; "three" engines of trade, investment and financial cooperation; and "six" fields as cooperation priorities including energy and resources, infrastructure construction, agriculture, manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation, and information technology.
Data shows that in the first eight months of 2017, trade between China and Latin American countries reached 166.78 billion U.S. dollars, up 18 percent year on year.
A report released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC) predicted that the region's exports to China in 2017 would likely increase 23 percent year on year.
In recent years, China's investment in Latin America has expanded from the traditional energy, mining and infrastructure fields to the industries including finance, agriculture, manufacturing, information, service and air transport.
In addition, Chinese Internet enterprises have also shifted their focuses to the region. For example, China's ride-sharing company, Didi Chuxing, invested in Brazil's car-hailing company 99. China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed an e-commerce agreement with Mexico's government. These transactions and moves have injected a new vitality into the Sino-Latin American cooperation.
Wang Ping believed that this year, China and Latin America will continuously see good cooperation. Especially, their cooperation in the infrastructure field will enjoy the promising prospects of rapid development. (Edited by Hu Pingchao, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
