Entrepreneurs in China and Latin American countries began today to review their business ties from the foundation for the great potential of both regions and the deepening of social inclusion.
These issues are central to the V-China Latin America Business Summit, held today in Lima with the participation of nearly 1,000 businessmen and officials.
Following the opening of the meeting, the vice president of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Zhang Wei, told press that Latin America is an attractive place of business for China.
Zhang said that after the 2008 global financial crisis there are more options for China to launch its capital in an area like Latin America, calling it an important exchange.
The Chinese representative pointed out that trade between China and Latin America rose in 2010 to 183,000 million dollars. “We expect Chinese investment in Latin America in wide areas as mining, energy, oil and petrochemical industry, infrastructure and telecommunications,” he said.
According to figures from the summit, it is estimated that by the end of this year, Chinese investment in Latin America amounted to 22,700 million dollars.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has pointed out that China is the third largest investor in the region after the United States and the Netherlands.
The growing importance of trade with China was also highlighted by the president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, who encouraged the governments and Latin American entrepreneurs to leverage their business relationships to start an industrialization process that leads to development.
“We all need a region that is no longer in developing countries, to become a developed region. That is the challenge of leaders and entrepreneurs,” said the president during the opening speech of the Summit.
Humala also noted that “China has become a strategic partner of Peru” and that Latin Americans have “a more dynamic regions of the world economy.”
In addition, Humala stated that “it is important to follow the laws of a country” and have “industrial peace”.
The issue was also addressed by the Peruvian Minister of Economy, Luis Miguel Castilla, who noted that social inclusion policies undertaken by the Government of Peru make a very attractive country for investment.
“Peru is a very important. Its macroeconomic stability, open markets and active policies make Peru an attractive country for investment and trade,” he said.
Castilla said that Peru has a platform of macroeconomic stability that distinguishes it from the countries of the region, a major trade liberalization agenda and the Government’s decision to seek growth that benefits the population with fewer resources.
“We have a comparative advantage is the richness of our natural resources, but the challenge is to add value and a way to do this is to transfer knowledge and technology,” he said.
During the two-day meeting there will be a forum, a business conference, a trade exhibition and the meeting between public agencies to promote investment and trade, as well as bi-national chambers of commerce.