Caixin at APEC Peru 2024: China and Latin America to Boost Cooperation as U.S. Takes Protectionist Turn, Experts Say
Key areas for collaboration could include mining, manufacturing, new energy, agriculture, digitalization and artificial intelligence
Ning Gaoning (center), former chairperson of Sinochem, and Caixin Media President Zhang Lihui (left) discuss China-Latin America economic and trade issues with Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs Wednesday at the APEC special session of the Caixin International Roundtable in Lima, Peru. Photo: Caixin
China and Latin American countries are likely to find opportunities for deeper cooperation amid the new Trump administration’s protectionist tendencies, experts said on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit held in Peru’s capital Lima this week.
They highlighted key areas for potential collaboration could include mining, manufacturing, new energy, agriculture, digitalization and artificial intelligence.
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Despite rising trade protectionism, many Chinese companies remain eager to expand overseas and are confident about learning to navigate the global market, Ning Gaoning, chairman of APEC Business Advisory Council’s sustainable growth working group, told a Caixin roundtable Wednesday.
Ning, a former chairman of Chinese oil and chemicals giant Sinochem, used the Chancay Port project, a $1.3 billion deepwater port in Peru developed by China’s Cosco Shipping, as an example of strategic investment. The project, which is set to begin operations soon, will cut the time it takes to send sea freight between South America and Asia from 45 days to 23 and is poised to make Peru a logistics hub, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Ning said the project would bring China and Peru closer together and facilitate more frequent trade.
Trump’s second term may create more space for the development of China-Latin America relations, Marco Carrasco-Villanueva, professor of development and East Asian studies at the National University of San Marcos, told the roundtable.
The APEC special session of the Caixin International Roundtable took place Wednesday in in the Peruvian capital. Photo: Caixin
However, Peru won’t take sides and will maintain friendly relations with both China and the U.S., Alonso Rey Bustamante, president of the Foreign Trade Society of Peru, told a Caixin reporter.
China has been Peru’s top source of imports and top export market for 10 consecutive years, with bilateral trade volume growing at an average annual rate of 14.6% from 2016 to 2023, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
While agriculture and mining are the traditional pillars of Peru’s economy, the government has been working to diversify trade and attract foreign investment.
Carrasco-Villanueva pointed out that Peru sought potential investors for the Chancay Port project from Europe and the U.S. over the years, but it was Chinese companies that finally agreed to make the project a reality.