Chinese consumers are indulging in an unexpected ‘cherry freedom’ this season as prices for the premium fruit have halved compared to last year. This sweet surprise is thanks to a steady influx of Chilean cherry shipments crossing the Pacific since December.
China has been Chile’s largest cherry export market for seven consecutive years, with over 92 percent of Chile’s cherry production destined for Chinese tables.
But it’s not just cherries. A growing variety of Latin American specialty products like Ecuadorian bananas, Nicaraguan honey, Peruvian blueberries, and Honduran whiteleg shrimp are making their way into Chinese homes. These imports are expanding consumer choices while deepening trade ties between China and the region.
Since 2012, China has been Latin America and the Caribbean’s second-largest trading partner. It now ranks as the top trade partner for Chile, Brazil, and Peru.
As of 2024, bilateral trade between China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries has reached $500 billion, marking a nearly 40-fold increase since 2000. China’s cumulative direct investment in the region has hit $600 billion, with its annual investment surpassing that of the United States for the first time in 2024, according to Chinese Ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan.
China has inked free trade agreements (FTAs) with five LAC countries—Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. Since 2024, it has signed an early harvest arrangement of a free trade agreement with Honduras and concluded substantial negotiations to upgrade the free trade agreement with Peru.
The Port of Guangzhou, a key shipping hub in the southern Chinese mainland, opened a direct route service to Chancay Port in Peru on April 29. This move will cut transit time to 30 days with 20 percent cost savings.
Chancay Port, South America’s first smart and green port inaugurated in November 2024, stands as a model of win-win cooperation between China and Peru and a new flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
To date, 23 LAC countries have signed BRI memoranda of understanding with China. Through grants, concessional loans, and contracted projects, China has implemented over 200 infrastructure projects across the region, including thousands of kilometers of roads and railways, more than 100 schools, hospitals, and sports stadiums, nearly 100 bridges and tunnels, dozens of airports and ports, and over 30 power plants and electrical facilities. These projects have helped create nearly 1 million local jobs, according to Ambassador Xu.
Pavel Aleman, associate professor at the University of Havana, said that cooperation between China and LAC countries features mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and pragmatism. He noted that China’s economic dynamism provides vital momentum for Latin America’s development, while the region offers crucial support for China’s sustained growth.
“Amid a rapidly changing global landscape, the strategic significance of LAC-China cooperation continues to grow,” Aleman said, adding that deepening pragmatic collaboration between the two sides helps mitigate the adverse effects of US tariff policies and effectively counters global risks.
Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese government on Latin American affairs, stated that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the official launch of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). He noted that China will announce major initiatives to advance bilateral relations.
During an interview, Qiu said that China and LAC countries account for one quarter of global GDP, representing one of the world’s most dynamic and growth-potential regions.
Miao Deyu, a Chinese assistant foreign minister, said that the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, set to be held in Beijing, will adopt two documents, including a joint action plan. The plan will outline bilateral cooperation in tech innovation, trade, investment, finance, infrastructure development, agriculture and food, industrial digitalization, energy, and concrete measures under the BRI cooperation, according to Miao.
