The China - Latin America summit in Lima

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The Fifth People's Republic of China - Latin America Summit

Beijing comes to Lima
by Peter Tase --- Council on Hemispheric Affairs

On November 21 the Peruvian capital hosted the fifth China - Latin America Summit. For two days an agenda of topics aimed at further development of trade between China (PRC) and Latin America was discussed. The summit was attended by more than 1,000 business leaders and public officials from the PRC and from all of the Latin American countries. Since the world financial crisis of 2008, Chinese corporations have made special efforts to diversify their investments throughout South America in particular.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), China is one of the three largest investing countries in Latin America, trailing the United States and the Netherlands. Zhang Wei, the vice president of the Chinese Council of International Trade Promotion (CCPIT), said that in 2010 China and Latin America reached a record inter-regional trade level of $183 billion. In the coming years, Chinese business hopes to expand in high production areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining and telecommunications. It is believed that with the help of this year's gathering, Chinese business will grow to upwards of $22.7 billion. The consequences of Chinese investment in Latin America remain to be seen: Chinese companies tend to be not environmentally responsible and South America's fragile landscape and inadequate infrastructures require special consideration and responsible practices.

On the first day of the summit Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, whose term began in November of 2010, emphasized that his country and the rest of Latin America are at a stage of industrialization where much is happening: "We should not only export minerals, but also... become developed nations."

The Peruvian leader added: "it is important to... place an emphasis on the exportation of software, [develop] human resources, inspire the young generation... to learn the Chinese language and attract Chinese students to study Spanish and conduct research in Peru and Latin America." On the same topic Peruvian Minister of Economy and Finance Luis Miguel Castilla Rubio noted in his speech that "Peru is in a very important stage, very promising. Its macroeconomic stability, commercial openness and dynamic policies of social inclusion transform Peru into a very attractive country for investment and commerce."

The Fifth China - Latin America Summit took place at a time when Peru was one of the world's most successful growing economies. It had a seven percent GDP growth in 2011. Peru's population also grew, and there has been a considerable reduction in poverty. Some 50 percent of Peruvians fell below the poverty line in 2004, compared with around 30 percent in 2010. Preliminary data about the conference include several thousand one-on-one meetings and more than $100 million worth of deals made, with more to come.

Previous summits have taken place in Chile (2007), Harbin (2008), Bogota (2009) and Chengdu (2010). This year's summit theme was "comprehensive growth: new stage in China-Latin America relations".

According to the Chinese ambassador to Peru, Zhao Wuyi, "Continental China has emerged in 2010 as the largest trading partner of Peru and of other South American countries."

This year's summit was organized by the Council of International Trade Promotion of the People's Republic of China (CCPIT), in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Tourism and the Commission on Promoting Peruvian Exports and Tourism (Promperu and ProInversion), in cooperation with the Foreign Trade Association of Peru (ComexPeru), the Lima Chamber of Commerce and the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce in China.