中文
By Xia Fangting
The China-Latin America relations have grown substantially and are now undergoing a qualitative change, experts said at a dialogue in Beijing on May 26.
Colombian Ambassador to China Sergio Cabrera Cardenas emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation between the two sides amid global uncertainty.
"One of the great questions of our time is precisely how to build cooperation in an international environment that has become increasingly competitive and, at times, more fragmented," the ambassador said. "In that context, the relationship between China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries takes on enormous significance."
He added that people-to-people and cultural ties matter as much as economic links. "Relations between countries are not built solely through governments or trade agreements. They are also built through people — through universities, think tanks, entrepreneurs, young people, and spaces for dialogue such as this one," he said.
Sergio Cabrera Cardenas, Colombian Ambassador to China, speaks at a dialogue in Beijing, May 26, 2026. [Photo by Xia Fangting/Chinadiplomacy.org.cn]
Wang Zichen, deputy secretary general of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), cited China-LAC trade topping $500 billion last year as evidence of how far the relationship has come.
Wang Zichen, deputy secretary general of the Center for China and Globalization, speaks at a dialogue in Beijing, May 26, 2026. [Photo by Xia Fangting/Chinadiplomacy.org.cn]
Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the Center for Chinese-Mexican Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and of the Latin America and Caribbean Network on China, said the China-Latin America relationship has undergone a sweeping transformation.
"The relationship between China and LAC countries is profound, extensive, complex and mature," Dussel Peters said. "The relationship did not begin in the 21st century, but much before."
"If we calculate China's GDP by PPP, China is, according to the World Bank, the largest economy since 2016. This is fundamental for LAC countries," Dussel Peters said. "China is becoming the technological leader in Latin American imports — the most important technological exporter to each of these countries and to the region as a whole. This is a qualitative change for the region and for the world."
Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the Center for Chinese-Mexican Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and of the Latin America and Caribbean Network on China, speaks via video link at a dialogue in Beijing, May 26, 2026. [Photo by Xia Fangting/Chinadiplomacy.org.cn]
While acknowledging these positive developments, Wang Zichen also cautioned against viewing Latin America as a proxy arena for major power rivalries. "Latin America should not have to become a battlefield for other powers' anxieties. It should be a region with its own agency," Wang said.
Wang also drew a distinction between legitimate concern and what he called a systematic effort to demonize ordinary Chinese commercial, scientific and infrastructure activities.
"If every telescope, every research project and every university-level collaboration is treated as a military threat, then scientific exchange itself becomes hostage to geopolitics. This is not good for China, and it is not good for Latin America, either," he said.
The dialogue, titled "Trade Disruption and the New Geopolitical Economy: Perspectives from China and Latin America," was co-hosted by the Embassy of Colombia in China and Zhiqiao Dialogue. The event brought together scholars and experts from China and Latin America to discuss the transformations shaping the global trade system and the emerging geopolitical economy.
