In recent years, China and Latin America, guided by the Belt and Road Initiative, have overcome the adverse effects of the epidemic, jointly promoted the high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation, and written a new chapter for building a community with a shared future for China and Latin America.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, China has stably maintained its position as Latin America's second largest trading partner. The trade volume between China and Latin America has exceeded US$300 billion in the previous three consecutive years, exceeding US$450 billion in 2021.
While trade and investment continue to show strong vitality, China and Latin America continue to expand areas of cooperation. Cooperation in infrastructure, clean energy and agricultural trade has yielded fruitful results. The road to friendly cooperation across the Pacific is getting wider and wider.
Infrastructure projects are advancing steadily. The Metro Line 1 project in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, is under construction in full swing.
As early as the 1950s, local people in Bogota were longing for a subway line. Now, this expectation is becoming a reality.
In the Brazilian city of Salvador, the cross-sea skyrail project built by a Chinese company has started construction smoothly. Once completed, it will greatly alleviate traffic congestion and boost the development of the tourism industry.
Rui Costa, governor of the state of Bahia where El Salvador is located, said that El Salvador initially intended to build a ground light rail, but China's technology and design solutions finally stood out: the cloud rail runs in the sky, bicycle lanes can be built on the ground, and leisure trails are set up on the seaside.
This plan is more in line with El Salvador’s development plan to create a ‘coastal high-end tourism corridor’.”
Monterrey, known as the "Industrial Capital" of Mexico, is an important area for attracting foreign investment.
In February last year, Monterey Light Rail Line 3 opened to traffic.
This new light rail line is about 7.5 kilometers long and carries more than 116,000 passengers per day. It also connects two other light rail lines and bus transportation hubs.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Light Rail Line 3, Rodriguez, the then Governor of Nuevo León, said that the development of the state has given rise to new demands for urban transportation construction, and that the light rail trains designed and manufactured in China have provided the public with faster and more comfortable travel services.
Help improve the quality and upgrade of local smart transportation construction.
At the beginning of this year, Nicaragua and Argentina signed the first Memorandum of Understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative with China, promoting investment and cooperation in the fields of electric power, transportation, telecommunications and energy.
On May 25, China Railway Construction and the Guyana Public Works Department signed a construction contract for the New Demerara River Bridge Project.
Edgehill, Minister of Engineering of Guyana, said that the New Demerara River is the most important river in Guyana. The original bridge has seriously overdue service and has serious congestion problems. "We are full of expectations for the new bridge."
Enrique Dussel, director of the China-Mexico Research Center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that Latin America has a large demand for infrastructure. China's technology, experience and funds can help Latin American countries make up for their shortcomings. The two sides have great cooperation in infrastructure construction.
Cooperation projects continue to increase, achieving pragmatic cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results.
Green and low-carbon support development Latin America has a vast territory and is rich in clean energy resources such as solar energy, hydro energy, and wind energy.
In order to coordinate economic development and environmental protection, many Latin American countries have launched a series of measures to promote the development of clean energy. China and Latin America have broad prospects for cooperation in the field of low-carbon transformation.
On the banks of the Santa Cruz River in Argentina, China and Argentina are working together to build the "world's southernmost" hydropower station, the "Quise" hydropower station.
After the hydropower station is completed, the average annual power generation will reach 4.95 billion kilowatt-hours, meeting the daily electricity needs of 1.5 million households. It will save Argentina nearly 1.1 billion US dollars in oil and gas import expenses every year, and it can also export electricity to neighboring countries.
Since the project site is more than 100 kilometers away from the Moreno Glacier, one of the only three glaciers in the world whose total area is still growing, from design to implementation, the protection of the glacier and the surrounding ecological environment has been considered at every step: the water storage height of the dam is higher than the original
It is planned to be lowered by 2.4 meters, and the hydropower station is also designed with fish passages, ecological drainage bottom holes, etc.
The city of Lagoa-Dubaru, located in the northeastern region of Brazil, is rich in wind resources.
At the end of last year, the LDB wind power expansion project with a total installed capacity of 82,800 kilowatts was officially put into operation, introducing China's mature wind turbine equipment to Brazil for the first time, helping China and Brazil develop together in the field of green and low-carbon economic construction.
"The economic development level of Lagoa-Dubaru City is limited. In the past, many local young people had to leave their hometowns to find jobs in other big cities in the Northeast." Looking at the constantly rotating wind turbines, employee Abreu said with emotion,
The project brought him not only a stable income, but also a sense of belonging to his hometown. "Our residents here welcome this project very much. Young people are rushing to participate in technical training, hoping to get job opportunities."
In Punta Sierra, Chile, the blades of 32 white wind turbines from China rotate with the wind. The electricity generated can meet the electricity needs of 130,000 households and reduce 157,000 tons of carbon emissions every year; in the beautiful mountains of Brazil, China's special
High-voltage direct current transmission technology helps build “power highways”.
Castro, director of the Natural Environment Bureau of Sao Paulo, Brazil, said that green energy projects invested by China have greatly enhanced local capabilities to cope with climate change and created a better environment.