As 2015 arrives, China and Latin America are ushering in a new dawn in bilateral relations; the first ministerial meeting between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be held in Beijing this Thursday.

Last July, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Latin American and Caribbean nations’ leaders and both sides jointly announced the establishment of the China-CELAC Forum. Only five months later, the first ministerial meeting of the forum is about to begin, an indication of the strategic wish on the part of both sides to set up such a comprehensive cooperation platform.

In recent years, the interdependence between China and Latin America has reached unprecedented breadth and depth. The trade volume between the two sides has rapidly increased from the 12.6 billion USD in 2000 to 261.6 billion USD in 2013. Since 2008, with support from Latin America in energy, mineral products and other raw materials, China has successfully withstood the negative impact of the international financial crisis and has maintained rapid economic growth. At the same time, China's rapid economic development has promoted significant growth in the export of primary commodities from Latin America, contributing to its own remarkable economic growth.

China has signed free trade agreements (FTA) with several Latin American countries, including Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica. In high-tech cooperation such as satellite technology, digital television, and automobiles, China and Latin America have also made great progress.

Both sides have realized that we are in an important period of development. To respond to new opportunities and challenges, China and Latin America need a new cooperation mechanism, so the China-CELAC Forum is being established at the ideal moment.

The China-Latin America relationship has entered a new chapter. Cooperation will not only benefit the 2 billion people of both sides, but also contribute to world peace and development. 

The article is edited and translated from《中拉关系的历史新起点》, source: People's Daily, author: Liu Yuqin.