Beijing, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Tuesday that China is ready to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum in Beijing, Xi emphasized enhancing communication on major international and regional issues.
"China is willing to continue supporting each other with LAC countries on issues concerning our core interests and major concerns," Xi said. He highlighted plans to invite 300 leading officials from CELAC member states to visit China annually over the next three years to exchange governance experiences.
Xi called for stronger alignment of development strategies and advancing high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. He urged deepening partnerships in traditional sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, energy, and minerals, while expanding into emerging fields such as clean energy, 5G communications, digital economy, and artificial intelligence.
"China will import more high-quality products from LAC countries and encourage Chinese enterprises to expand investment in the region," Xi stated. He also expressed China’s readiness to implement the Global Development Initiative and uphold an open and cooperative international environment.
Emphasizing cultural exchanges, Xi announced that China would provide 3,500 government scholarships and 10,000 training opportunities to CELAC member states over the next three years. Additionally, China has decided to offer visa-free access to five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with plans to extend this policy to more regional nations in the future.
Xi underlined the importance of implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, promoting common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom. He expressed willingness to collaborate on cultural heritage protection, including joint archaeological research and combating illicit trafficking of cultural property.
On security matters, Xi highlighted the need to implement the Global Security Initiative, proposing enhanced cooperation in disaster management, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, anti-corruption, drug control, and combating transnational organized crime to maintain regional stability.
"China is ready to work with LAC countries to uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law," Xi concluded.
