China, Latin America trade ties to continue growing at high rate

With the joint efforts from both sides, China-Latin America trade in goods "will continue to grow at a high rate and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results", Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Lin made the comments at a daily news conference when asked about the "International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2024" report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean last month.

The report shows that China is an important trade partner of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the fastest growing market for the region's exports.

From 2000 to 2022, the annual total trade in goods between China and Latin America increased 35 times. During the same period, the region's total trade with the rest of the world rose four times.

Speaking of China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation, Lin said, "Mutual benefit and win-win is a value-oriented choice brought by the development of China-Latin America relations."

China-Latin America trade in goods has continued to expand in recent years, reaching $489 billion last year, he said with reference to the report.

In the first three quarters of this year, China-Latin America trade in goods reached $427.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent, and the number is expected to exceed $500 billion for the whole year.

"Since the beginning of the new century, the growth rate of China-Latin America goods trade volume has been much higher than the trade growth rate of Latin America and the Caribbean with the rest of the world in the same period, which highlights the high complementarity between the economies of China and Latin America," Lin said.

He said that Chilean cherries have become a popular fruit in China, and Chile, which is the farthest away from China geographically, has become China's second-largest source of fresh fruit imports thanks to its advantage brought by the fruits' counter-seasonal nature.

"China's new energy industry production chain also provides more economically accessible solutions for Latin America's green development transformation," Lin said.

Currently, China has five free trade partners in Latin America.

China has signed an early harvest arrangement for its free trade agreement with Honduras, and has substantially completed negotiations on upgrading its free trade agreement with Peru.

Behind the high-speed growth of China-Latin America's commodity trade volume is their vast market and bright prospects for development, the spokesman said.

Currently, China is the world's second-largest economy and the largest consumer market, and the total number of its middle-income residents has reached 400 million and is expected to double to 800 million in the future.

Lin said that Latin America and the Caribbean have a total population of 660 million, a demographic structure featuring a remarkable age group of youths, and great potential for economic development.

"China-Latin America see each other as an opportunity for development," he said.