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ECLAC seeks deeper Latin America-China ties

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-24 15:55

The third Latin America-China Entrepreneurs Summit will facilitate the discussions on post-crisis ties between China, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America and the Caribbean, an official with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said on Monday.

ECLAC commerce and integration director Osvaldo Rosales told Xinhua that the Summit, scheduled for Tuesday in Bogota, Colombia, "is held at an important moment for the Chinese and Latin American economies, signaling that these economies are coming out of the global crisis."

"What we found in ECLAC research is that the commercial ties between countries in the region and China have made big strides in the first decade of the 21st century," he said.

Hundreds of Chinese and Latin American business people will attend the two-day Summit with the theme "Reinforcing the Trusts to Defeat the Crisis and Busting the Joint Development of China and Latin America."

Rosales said that during the Summit, the ECLAC will present a digital version in Chinese of its 2008 report on economic and commercial cooperation between Latin America and China.

The high growth rate of China will create a market of great potential for Latin America and Caribbean exports, Rosales said.

China is the largest export market for Brazil and Chile, and the second largest for Argentina, Peru and Costa Rica.

Noting that last year China joined the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) , Rosales said that "we understand that it is evaluating its entrance to the ECLAC, after Japan and South Korea have done so."

The economic ties between China and Latin America are entering a new phase, said Rosales, "we could transit toward a phase of global trade agreements in sectors like energy, infrastructure and others."

ECLAC suggested that technical groups be formed to create the conditions for similar summits like what China has with African and European nations.

"This is a challenge in perspective," Rosales said. Instead of solely relying on trade and cooperation of natural resources, the ECLAC countries are considering developing qualified human resources as well as in science and technology, such as biotechnology.

Rosales wondered whether the biotechnology advances of Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay and Costa Rica "could be coordinated within a common project with China, at technology centers, universities and economic centers."

"Cooperation between Latin American partners could generate better conditions for the Chinese part to have greater interest in these projects and the conditions to attract a larger Chinese investment in our countries," he said, noting that China's investment in Latin America is still low compared with its higher trade volumes with the region.