“China and Latin American countries can complement each other, both in terms of infrastructure development and industrial diversification,” said Ziying Li, Ph.D. in Latin American Politics, director of the Center for Pacific Alliance and Latin American Studies, and deputy director of the School of International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in China.
The conference “Sino-Latin American Cooperation on Productive Capacity,” held on April 12, 2019, at the Pocitos Campus of Universidad ORT Uruguay in Universidad ORT Uruguay, was organized by the Department of International Studies of the School of Administration and Social Sciences.
Cooperation among countries
For the 2015–2019 period, the Chinese government established the 1+3+6 cooperation framework with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The name of the framework refers to a single plan for the entire region, driven by three key areas—trade, investment, and financial cooperation—and six core sectors: energy, natural resources, infrastructure development, agriculture, manufacturing, and technological innovation.
Li Keqiang, China’s Premier, delivered a speech at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in 2015, in which he emphasized cooperation on productive capacities among countries: “It can fully leverage each country’s comparative advantages, effectively reduce the cost of infrastructure development to promote industrial diversification and job creation, achieving mutual benefit, shared gains, and joint development, thereby fostering strong, sustained, and balanced growth of the global economy.”
During the conference at ORT, Dr. Ziying Li compared infrastructure development in China with that in Latin America, based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017–2018.
Among 140 countries, China ranks 47th in terms of infrastructure. In other words, it ranks above Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela.
However, it ranks below Chile, which is in 35th place. In terms of electricity supply, China ranks 65th. Among Latin American countries, Peru ranks 62nd and Chile ranks 32nd.
In terms of innovation capacity, China ranks 44th. In other words, it is far ahead of Latin American countries. Mexico ranks 70th. Argentina ranks 71st. Brazil ranks 73rd. Chile ranks 76th. Colombia ranks 89th. The lowest-ranked of the Latin American countries compared is Venezuela, which ranks 116th.
According to the White Paper on the Development of China’s Transportation Network, published by the State Council of China in December 2016, China’s high-speed rail network has reached 22,000 kilometers, accounting for 65% of the world’s total network. More than half of this network has been completed in the past five years.
Cooperation between China and Latin America
In his presentation, Li cited the report “Latin American Economic Outlook 2016: Toward a New Partnership with China,” produced by the international organizations OECD/ECLAC/CAF in 2015, which states that“Latin America needs to invest in innovation, in the quality and relevance of skills, and in addressing infrastructure deficiencies to benefit from global value chains.”
The establishment of industrial parks is an example of innovation in cooperation models. Among these parks are Hofusan in Nuevo León, Mexico, and the China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Industrial Park in the Laoting District of Tangshan, China.
Finally, the expert noted that China’s comprehensive industrial system and its robust production capacity serve as a solid foundation for cooperation on production capacity between the two sides. She concluded by saying that Latin America, in turn, offers market expansion opportunities for China’s manufacturing sector.
Full lecture:
https://youtu.be/WWygQTq32t4?si=La2LXIOpcMqrG7cB