Nicaragua and Argentina have joined the Belt and Road Initiative successively, and China-Latin America cooperation has strong resilience and vitality

　　Nicaragua and Argentina have joined the “Belt and Road” initiative successively—

　　China-Latin America cooperation is resilient and dynamic

　　Our reporter Yang Xiaolin

　　The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has received enthusiastic support from many Latin American countries.

Under the traction of the "ice ribbon", China-Latin America cooperation is in full swing.

Since the beginning of this year, Nicaragua and Argentina have joined the “Belt and Road” circle of friends.

　　In recent years, political mutual trust between China and Latin America has continued to deepen, and practical cooperation has continued to expand.

Especially since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China and Latin America have been watching and helping each other to fight the epidemic.

However, in the long run, China-Latin America cooperation also faces difficulties and shortcomings that need to be solved urgently.

　　The "Belt and Road" has made another breakthrough

　　Since the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed, it has gained more and more international recognition in Latin America.

However, due to factors such as geopolitics and vague understanding of the “Belt and Road” initiative, major Latin American economies have not formally joined the “Belt and Road” initiative for a long time.

Entering 2022, the good news of China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation continues. Following Nicaragua, Argentina, a major Latin American economy, has officially joined the “Belt and Road” family.

　　After the outbreak of the epidemic, Argentina's economic recession rate was as high as 11.8%. The "three highs" of high inflation, high debt and high unemployment have become the biggest obstacle to Argentina's economic recovery.

Sun Yanfeng, deputy director of the Latin American Institute of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that in this dilemma, Argentina, based on the long-term mutually beneficial and win-win pragmatic cooperation with China, as well as its confidence in China's huge consumer market and investment capabilities, has a profound Recognize that joining the Belt and Road Initiative will bring significant opportunities for its economic recovery.

　　The official signing of the "Belt and Road" memorandum of understanding will further consolidate institutional cooperation on the basis of the original economic and trade cooperation between China and Afghanistan, and promote the further deepening of economic relations between the two countries.

"It is also expected to make progress in the core areas of concern to both sides. For example, in order to maintain the stability of Afghanistan's financial market, the two sides will continue to cooperate closely on local currency swaps and support a greater role in the RMB clearing bank in Afghanistan, which is also beneficial to the internationalization of the RMB." Yue Yunxia, ​​director of the Economic Research Office of the Latin American Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.

　　In terms of infrastructure construction, the cooperation between the two sides is also expected to deepen and solidify.

Argentina has previously been a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and is an important engineering contracting market and investment destination for China in Latin America.

"The official signing of the 'Belt and Road' cooperation agreement will provide a solid political guarantee for the future large-scale electromechanical, energy, and transportation projects in China and Arab states." Sun Yanfeng said that these are projects that complement each other's advantages and will effectively improve the The Afghan side's "self-hematopoietic" ability has a demonstrative effect on Latin American countries that have not signed the "Belt and Road" agreement.

　　Economic and trade relations deepened

　　The rapid progress of China-Arab cooperation is to a certain extent a vivid epitome of the increasingly close economic and trade relations between China and Latin America.

At present, the "Belt and Road" initiative has closely linked China's economy and development concept with the development of Latin American countries.

Driven by China's development, the trade balance of Argentina and other Latin American countries has been greatly improved, and the process of economic recovery and transformation has been accelerated.

　　Under the raging global epidemic, although China and Latin America belong to two ends of the world, their strong economic complementarity keeps their trade exchanges strong and resilient.

In 2021, the total import and export volume between China and Latin America will exceed the US$450 billion mark, an increase of 41.1% over 2020.

China continued to maintain its status as the second largest trading partner of Latin America, and its import and export volume to Latin America both hit new highs.

Fruits from South America, such as cherries, prunes, and peaches, are favored by more and more Chinese consumers, and "Made in China" such as electric vehicles, mobile phones, and small household appliances are also continuously integrated into the lives of Latin American people.

　　At the same time, the pace of Chinese investment in Latin America has been accelerating, providing continuous impetus for Latin American economic recovery and growth.

As of July 2021, China's direct investment stock in Latin America has exceeded US$450 billion, accounting for 19% of China's total foreign investment stock.

Investments in infrastructure, in particular, are constantly bringing new dividends to the development of Latin American countries.

At present, many Chinese-funded enterprises have carried out investment business in Latin America in transportation, electric power, water conservancy and other fields, promoting the continuous improvement and upgrading of local industries, and creating a large number of jobs.

　　"Many countries in Latin America are in a critical period of economic transformation and urgently need high-quality infrastructure and advanced technology to improve trade and logistics efficiency. China has not only made up for its funding gap, but also established a good reputation in Latin America for Chinese products and technologies." Nankai Wang Ping, a university professor and vice-chairman of the China Latin American History Research Association, said that under the promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative, there is still a lot of potential for China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation to be tapped. Expand more space for cooperation in other fields.

　　Cooperation problems need to be solved urgently

　　China and Latin America have many points of convergence and strong willingness to cooperate in the economic and trade field.

The "Belt and Road" provides a bigger stage and a brighter prospect for both sides.

However, China and Latin America also face some problems and shortcomings that need to be solved urgently.

　　First, the political ecology in Latin America is not stable.

From the outside, the "New Monroe Doctrine" launched by the United States in Latin America has a strong xenophobic tendency, and it still erroneously examines the cooperation between other countries and Latin America with a Cold War mentality. faster.

"China and Latin America should further strengthen political mutual trust, establish an all-weather cooperative relationship, and establish a correct understanding of China-Latin America relations." Sun Yanfeng said.

　　Secondly, China and Latin America still have shortcomings in "soft Unicom".

China and Latin America are far apart geographically, and there are differences in language, culture and business philosophy. Chinese-funded enterprises often encounter difficult problems in Latin American investment policies, tax systems, construction standards and legal norms.

Wang Ping told reporters that currently Latin American countries prefer to cooperate in the government-private partnership (PPP) model, but Chinese-funded enterprises have started late in this model and have relatively inexperienced. Compared with European companies, their participation in PPP projects in Latin America low degree.

　　Once again, the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the Latin American economy is still ongoing.

This has exacerbated an economic crisis in Latin America that existed before the pandemic.

Financial markets fluctuate from time to time, and sovereign debt default risks occur from time to time. These unstable factors constitute the uncertainty of the business environment in Latin America.

Yue Yunxia said that problems such as unemployment, poverty, and large income gaps derived from economic problems have intensified local social unrest and led to escalating risks in the business environment.

　　Against the backdrop of a century of changes and a century-old epidemic, China-Latin America economic and trade cooperation will forge ahead under multiple tests.

It is believed that under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" initiative, China and Latin American countries will further consolidate cooperation in various fields, work hand in hand to promote common development, realize the prosperity of the country and the people, and move forward in the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind.