China and Latin America Forge Stronger Connections as Bridge Builders

By Global Times

Nov 18, 2024 12:06 AM

Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

With the inauguration of the Chancay Port, a key Belt and Road Initiative project jointly built by China and Peru, we witness a significant moment in history. This project marks a new phase in China-Latin America connectivity, creating a modern Asia-Latin America land-sea corridor.

World economic history is characterized by the continuous connection of materials, people and capital across human societies. Since ancient times, connectivity has been a fundamental pursuit of human culture. One of the challenges facing developing countries' economic growth today is the need to build and join a more robust and convenient connectivity network. Even in today's world, transformed by the internet, highways and container shipping, network building and "bridge construction" remain bottlenecks for many emerging economies.

The joint construction of the Chancay Port by China and Peru represents a significant effort to overcome these obstacles. While certain major powers attempt to build "small yard, high fence" based on "strategic competition," trying to sever or reconstruct trade, supply and industrial chains under their dominance, the China-Peru effort becomes even more valuable. It sends a clear signal to those resisting this trend: No hegemonic power can stop the pursuit of developing countries.

The development of China-Latin America's economic and trade relations is not just a trend, but an inevitable outcome. This certainty paves the way for a future of increased connectivity and prosperity.

More than 500 years ago, the Age of Discovery, initiated by the Portuguese and Spanish, changed the course of world history. In subsequent Western textbooks, we were all "discovered." After 500 years, the rise of Western powers left Latin America with painful experiences, and the great Latin American civilization became a victim of European powers. Colonizers brutally plundered gold, silver, copper, tin, oil, sugar, rubber, cotton and coffee, leaving behind pathogens, poverty and turmoil on this scarred continent.

China is the world's largest developing country and Latin America is one of the fastest-growing regions. Both Chinese and Latin American peoples have experienced the humiliation of Western colonial exploitation and have a profound understanding and urgent expectation for joint development and prosperity. The "Chinese Dream" and the "Latin American Dream" are closely linked.

Today, flying from Beijing to Latin America takes about 20 hours or more. This is ultra-high speed compared to the Manila Galleon's first journey from Asia to Latin America 500 years ago. Historical records show that the ship, loaded with "Made in China" goods, took half a year to reach its destination - more accurately, it didn't sail, it drifted. Now we fly.

Five hundred years later, we are witnessing the rapid and comprehensive development of China-Latin America relations. The Pacific routes are now among the world's busiest trade routes, signaling a future of exciting possibilities.

In 2023, China's trade with Latin America reached 3.44 trillion yuan ($475 billion), up 6.8 percent year-on-year, maintaining growth for several consecutive years. The deepening China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation has provided significant support for Latin American countries to expand their export trade and promote sustainable economic growth. In this new era, China and Latin American countries are bridge builders. The bridges we build together connect people living on opposite ends of the Earth more closely than ever before.