China, Latin America aim to boost trade
By offering a $10 billion credit line for infrastructure and proposing a key trade forum, China is wooing countries in Latin America and tries to strengthen its influence in ‘America’s backyard’.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was on a four-nation tour across Latin America in the past days, said on June 26 that China is willing to offer $10 billion in loans for infrastructure projects in the region. He also called for launching an economic cooperation forum to forge closer ties between China and Latin America.
He also proposed a free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, currently consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as associate members. Mercosur’s combined market encompasses more than 250 million people with a combined GDP of $1.1 trillion.
China also wants to increase trade with the newly formed Pacific Alliance, a group which includes Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The Pacific Alliance represents a market of 215 million consumers and a combined GDP exceeding $2 trillion.
Another outcome of Wen’s visit was to initiate a $5 billion cooperation fund between China, Latin America and the Caribbean.
China’s trade with Latin America and the Caribbean was surging over the past years. Bilateral trade skyrocketed by more than 160 per cent to over $200 billion in 2011. As of last year, Latin American nations exported $90.3 billion to China, which in turn imported goods worth $88.6 billion, according to data released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribeean (ECLAC).
Wen said China aims to reach $400 billion in bilateral trade over the coming five years. Trade with Chile alone, mostly copper imports to China, had a value of about $30 billion in 2011.
[caption id="attachment_3600" align="alignleft" width="300"] China's Premier Wen Jiabao with Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner[/caption] By offering a $10 billion credit line for infrastructure and proposing a key trade forum, China is wooing countries in Latin America and tries to strengthen its influence in 'America's backyard'. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was on a four-nation tour across Latin America in the past days, said on June 26 that China is willing to offer $10 billion in loans for infrastructure projects in the region. He also called for launching an economic cooperation forum to forge closer ties between China and Latin...
By offering a $10 billion credit line for infrastructure and proposing a key trade forum, China is wooing countries in Latin America and tries to strengthen its influence in ‘America’s backyard’.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was on a four-nation tour across Latin America in the past days, said on June 26 that China is willing to offer $10 billion in loans for infrastructure projects in the region. He also called for launching an economic cooperation forum to forge closer ties between China and Latin America.
He also proposed a free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, currently consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as associate members. Mercosur’s combined market encompasses more than 250 million people with a combined GDP of $1.1 trillion.
China also wants to increase trade with the newly formed Pacific Alliance, a group which includes Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The Pacific Alliance represents a market of 215 million consumers and a combined GDP exceeding $2 trillion.
Another outcome of Wen’s visit was to initiate a $5 billion cooperation fund between China, Latin America and the Caribbean.
China’s trade with Latin America and the Caribbean was surging over the past years. Bilateral trade skyrocketed by more than 160 per cent to over $200 billion in 2011. As of last year, Latin American nations exported $90.3 billion to China, which in turn imported goods worth $88.6 billion, according to data released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribeean (ECLAC).
Wen said China aims to reach $400 billion in bilateral trade over the coming five years. Trade with Chile alone, mostly copper imports to China, had a value of about $30 billion in 2011.
