China, Latin America, Caribbean economic cooperation can further develop
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Economic cooperation between China, Latin America and Caribbean nations (LAC) can further develop, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) concluded in a report released Thursday as the China-LAC Business Summit was held in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Held on the sidelines of the 11th Western China International Fair that runs from Oct 22-26 in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan, the China-LAC Business Summit was organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the IDB, the People's Bank of China and Sichuan Province.
"Between 2000 and 2008, trade between China and the LAC grew at a breakneck annual rate of 31 percent, and even during the financial crisis in 2009 the dynamism remained unabated," said the report.
Trade between China and the LAC reached 80 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months of 2010, and will definitely surpass last year's 121.5 billion-U.S. dollar mark by the end of this year, Wan Jifei, head of the CCPIT, said at the opening ceremony of the summit.
China has become the largest trade partner of Brazil and Chile and is the second largest trade of Argentina, Costa Rica and Cuba, said Wan.
The report noted four issues that can potentially derail bilateral economic relations: the composition of bilateral trade; the internal geography of trade in the region; trade costs; and the trade-investment cooperation balance.
The report also pointed out the high cost of transportation.
"The effects of freight rates on China-LAC trade are at least as high as those of import tariffs," said the report.
China has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.
"But some in Latin America worry that China mainly imports raw materials from Latin America while the Latin America's manufacturing cannot compete with that of China," said Michael Reid, Americas editor of the Economist, who also attended the summit.
Some 3,153 businesses, including multinational corporations Intel, Honda, LG and Diageo from 44 countries and regions will attend the 11th Western China International Fair that is set to open Friday, according to organizers.
