Regional exports to China will show the highest growth in 2017, at 23%, surpassing shipments to the rest of Asia, Europe, the United States and within the region itself, according to the report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, which ECLAC recently launched and which it presented on Wednesday, November 8 at a high-level event held in Beijing.
A delegation from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – headed by the Director of the Production, Productivity and Management Division and Officer-in-Charge of the organization’s International Trade and Integration Division, Mario Cimoli – is in the Asian country to participate in a series of high-level gatherings that seek to strengthen ties between the region, ECLAC and China.
On behalf of Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Cimoli presented the regional organization’s report at a meeting organized by the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (ILAS-CASS), which corresponds to the first activity in the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed by the United Nations regional commission and the ILAS-CASS last October 18, during the First CELAC-China High-level Academic Forum held at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
In his presentation, Cimoli highlighted that in the current year exports from Latin America and the Caribbean to China are forecast to grow 23%, which more than doubles total shipments abroad (10%), as well as within the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (10%), Asia (17%), the United States (9%) and the European Union (6%).
The ECLAC official reiterated that this moment in history is very favorable for deepening the dialogue between China and the region. “The relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and China must be understood in the new global context. The region and China have to have a joint response to confront the macroeconomic, technological and geopolitical uncertainties. Surely through the strengthening of multilateralism and mutual recognition of the diversity of development models,” Cimoli indicated.
During its stay in the Chinese capital, the delegation from ECLAC will also hold bilateral meetings with high-level government authorities from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade (MOFCOM) and Science and Technology, as well as with representatives of prestigious academic institutions such as Tsinghua University and other private bodies such as the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Subsequently, on Thursday, November 9, Mario Cimoli will be one of the main speakers at the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, which is taking place in the city of Zhuhai and includes the first China-Latin America and the Caribbean International Exposition (CLAC Expo), events in which between 800 and 1,000 government officials, prominent scholars and high-level business executives from both sides will participate. At this gathering, the ECLAC delegation will also hold bilateral meetings with high-level authorities from the People’s Government of Zhuhai.
