Trade with LAC to exceed $500b this year, ministry says

A promotional event takes place at a supermarket in Beijing on October 13, 2024, marking the official entry of Honduran whiteleg shrimp to the Chinese market. (Xing Xiaojing/GT)

Trade in goods between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) hit $427.4 billion in the first three quarters this year, up by 7.7 percent year-on-year, and the total amount for the whole year is expected to exceed $500 billion, Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Lin made the remarks during the ministry's Thursday press conference. Lin emphasized that mutual benefit and win-win results are the overarching principle for the growth of the relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since the beginning of the new century, the region's trade in goods with China has grown at a much faster rate than that with the world, underlying the highly complementary nature of the economies of both sides, Lin said.

Due to the advantage of providing off-season supply, Chile, which is farthest from China in this region, has become China's second largest source of fresh fruit imports and Chilean cherries are now star products here in China, the spokesperson added.

He added that China's new-energy industrial chain offers a more affordable resolution for the region's green transformation.

China has five free trade partners in the region and has signed an early harvest arrangement of free trade agreement with Honduras and concluded substantial negotiations to upgrade the free trade agreement with Peru, Lin noted.

The surge of trade in goods between China and Latin America and the Caribbean is supported by the huge market and bright prospect between the two sides, Lin said, noting that China is the world's second-largest economy and largest consumer market, with a middle-income group totaling over 400 million people, and that number is expected to hit 800 million.

Latin America and the Caribbean has a population of 660 million with younger demographic composition and boasts enormous potential for economic development, he added.

"As China and Latin America and the Caribbean see each other as opportunities for development, we believe that with the concerted effort of both sides, our trade in goods will continue to grow at a high speed and achieve win-win results at a higher level," Lin said.