China signs trade deals with Latin American countries

China signed more than 50 bilateral cooperation agreements with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries here Wednesday during the 7th China-LAC Business Summit.

A record number of nearly 500 Chinese entrepreneurs and 800 others from 23 countries attended the summit, during which over 500 companies from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, biotechnology and energy held a total of 1,600 match-making meetings, reported Xinhua.

Chinese companies exhibited automobiles, 3D printer supplies, LED, electronic products and information services.

During the summit, China also signed an agreement with the commerce and trade chambers of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru - members of Pacific Alliance, the Latin American trading bloc - to create the China-Pacific Alliance Multi-Chamber Union to promote logistic services and capital flows.

Juan Estaban Matusalem, president of the Chilean-Chinese Trade, Industry and Tourism Chamber, said this union will help financial and economic institutions as well as industrial, agricultural and trade companies to establish global chains.

The summit, co-organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), ministry of foreign trade of Costa Rica, and the Inter-American Development Bank, was held Nov 26-27 in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.

"The initiatives benefit a larger business integration of the Pacific Alliance members with China," said Yu Ping, CCPIT vice president.

A declaration adopted at the summit highlighted the cooperation potential with China, saying, "China, as one of the most vibrant emerging economies, is adjusting its domestic economy to adapt to the changes of the global economy, which provides Latin America with new opportunities."