versão portuguesa disponível

On May 13, 2025, the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China Latin America and Caribbean Community (CELAC) was successfully held in Beijing, marking the tenth anniversary of this cooperative framework. This historic occasion brought together leaders from across Latin America, including Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and the President of New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff. This moment not only highlights the fruitful achievements of bilateral cooperation, but also marks a shift toward deeper, broader, and more diverse forms of engagement. It may be asked, Why are Latin American countries increasingly embracing China as their preferred partner?

The post-war international order, historically dominated by Western powers, is now encountering significant structural challenges alongside a decline in the authority of its foundational institutions. In this context, the rise of the Global South, including many Latin American countries, as a powerful actor demanding increased representation and a more prominent role in global governance.

At the same time, the credibility of traditional hegemonic powers has been weakened by increasingly unilateral policies that hindered multilateral cooperation. Since the “reciprocal tariffs” under the U.S.president Donald Trump, global trade has become significantly more unstable, prompting widespread resistance across Latin America. This sentiment was clearly expressed in the Tegucigalpa Declaration, adopted at the ninth CELAC summit in April 2025. It rejected “the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law, including those that restrict international trade”, despite not being endorsed by Argentina, Paraguay and Nicaragua. Such protectionist policies have inadvertently drawn many regional countries closer to China. For instance, China has altered its soybean import strategy, switching from the United States to Brazil and thus offering a steadier market for Brazilian agricultural exports.

In addition, traditional partnerships with Western powers have increasingly shown their limitations in addressing Latin America’s evolving and diverse development needs. The return of the “Monroe Doctrine” mindset and the “America First” policy has led the United States to prioritise its own interests in regional affairs and demonstrate limited commitment to fostering sustainable development. Furthermore, Washington's diminished multilateral engagement and isolationist tendencies have introduced growing uncertainty and instability to global governance. Therefore, the US is gradually perceived by countries in the region as a less dependable long-term strategic partner. Similarly, the much-anticipated relaunch of the EU-CELAC Summit in 2023 highlighted persistent structural divides and fell short of delivering meaningful progress on key issues such as trade imbalances, climate change, and the stand of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The summit revealed significant divergence in development priorities and interests between CELAC and the European countries.

The declining institutional effectiveness among traditional global powers and unmet expectations across the Global South has positioned China, the world’s second-largest economy, as an increasingly attractive partner in Latin America’s pursuit of more equitable and meaningful international relationships.

Decades of consistent and productive engagement have established a robust foundation of mutual trust and significant accomplishments in China–Latin America relations. This solid base creates favorable conditions for both parties to deepen and expand their strategic partnership.

The principles of “equality and mutual respect” serve as the cornerstone of China–Latin America relations. China–Latin America partnership is characterised by mutual respect, with neither side adopting a paternalistic or hierarchical stance. China respects Latin American countries’ sovereign right to pursue their own development paths and refrains from exporting ideology or interfering in domestic affairs. These values are clearly reflected in the Beijing Declaration, which emphasises principles such as “fairness”, “equality” and “mutual respect”. This approach moves beyond “core–periphery” models and instead promotes a collaborative pursuit of common development objectives. In doing so, it reinforces Global South solidarity and advances the broader agenda of inclusive development.

By aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with national development strategies across Latin America, bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been significantly strengthened. This strategic convergence is underpinned by a shared commitment to development autonomy, as affirmed in the Beijing Declaration: “Both sides reaffirm their support for each other’s exploration of development paths suited to their respective national conditions and needs.”

Furthermore, China is positioning itself as a responsible global actor, offering Latin American countries stable and long-term cooperation prospects. With its growing market demand and stable investment environment, Latin America has become a key destination for Chinese enterprises seeking international expansion. Institutional platforms such as the Canton Fair and the China International Import Expo provide efficient channels that have facilitated access for high-quality products in each other’s markets, thereby contributing to a more balanced and diversified trade relationship.

The release of the Beijing Declaration of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, along with the adoption of the China-CELAC Joint Action Plan for Key Areas of Cooperation (2025–2027), marks a more pragmatic and mature phase in China’s engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean. Rather than being merely symbolic, these documents outline a detailed roadmap for cooperation that offer institutional support and practical guidance. The Action Plan, in particular, sets out detailed priority areas of collaboration, supported by comprehensive annexes that facilitate effective implementation. The cooperation is primarily strengthened across the following three aspects:

First, deepening strategic alignment to support Latin America's structural transformation. Latin American countries have long faced structural constraints, notably their heavy reliance on primary commodity exports, which leaves them vulnerable to global market fluctuations. In response, closer strategic coordination with China is developing across key areas including trade and investment, finance, infrastructure, agriculture and food security, energy, industrial upgrading, and digital transformation.This growing complementarity is providing new momentum into the region’s efforts to overcome its long-standing development constraints and build a more diversified, resilient economic model.

Second, bridging distance through people-to-people exchange. Geographic distance, language barriers, and asymmetrical information flows have long constrained mutual understanding between China and Latin America, often reinforcing outdated stereotypes. Therefore, both sides have elevated people-to-people exchange as a central pillar of cooperation. Through cultural, educational and tourism initiatives, the partnership aims to establish a stronger basis of social trust and mutual recognition. China has expanded scholarship opportunities for Latin American students, supported the creation of joint research platforms, and promoted academic exchanges. At the cultural level, film festivals, publishing collaborations, and touring exhibitions aim to present a more comprehensive image of China while also bringing Latin American rich culture and diversity to Chinese audiences. Additionally, visa agreements with Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay will make travel easier, strengthen interpersonal connections, and help to overcome the lingering 'sense of distance' in China–Latin American relations.

Third, addressing global challenges through South-South cooperation. As major actors within the Global South, China and Latin American countries share aligned perspectives on a range of global challenges, including the digital divide, climate change, public health, cybersecurity, anti-corruption, and social inequality. This cooperative model prioritises the interests of developing countries and emphasises inclusiveness, fairness, and sustainability, and thereby serves as a valuable complement to the existing global governance framework. China also places emphasis on building local capacity, facilitating technology transfer, and sharing knowledge in Latin America. This approach aims to avoid one-way input or technological dependence, fostering a more balanced and autonomous partnership instead.

There is an old Chinese saying, “Nothing, not even mountains and oceans, can separate people with shared goals and vision.” Despite being oceans apart, China and Latin America are drawing closer through their shared commitment to development and mutually reinforcing interests. This deepening partnership is elevating cooperation to new levels and providing a stable foundation for a more inclusive and balanced global order.

The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect the institutional position of Observa China 观中国 and are the sole responsibility of the author.