OPINION: The evergreen tree of China-LAC cooperation

On May 13, the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum was successfully held in Beijing. Foreign ministers, representatives of member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as well as heads of regional organisations all gathered in Beijing, planning together for development and revitalisation.

Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith attended the event, marking a new milestone in the high-level exchanges between China and Jamaica.

In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the major initiative of building a China-LAC community with a shared future at the leaders’ meeting between China and LAC countries. The leaders also agreed to establish the China-CELAC Forum, opening up a brand new chapter in the overall cooperation between the two sides.

Over the past 10 years, political trust between China and LAC countries has consolidated. President Xi has visited this region six times, leading China-LAC relations into a new phase of equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefits for the people.

China-LAC practical cooperation has gained momentum. The trade volume between China and LAC countries doubled in the past decade, reaching a historic milestone of US$518.4 billion in 2024. More than 20 countries have joined the Belt and Road Initiative, and more than 200 infrastructure projects have been implemented.

People-to-people exchanges are in full blossom. LAC countries widely recognises the Global Civilization Initiative, and the two sides have had seven rounds of successful dialogue between civilizations.

China has, so far, provided LAC countries with 17,000 government scholarships and around 13,000 training opportunities in China and opened 68 Confucius Institutes or Classrooms in 26 regional countries. Many regional countries have designated the Spring Festival as their public holiday.

Chen Daojiang, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica. (Credit: Jamaica Obser.)

Mature Mechanisms

The China-CELAC Forum has flourished with increasingly mature mechanisms. With mechanisms of the ministerial meeting, foreign ministers’ dialogue between China and the CELAC Quartet, and meeting of national coordinators, the China-CELAC Forum has built an all-round, multilevel and wide-ranging dialogue and cooperation network.

Success needs to be built on past achievements and the determination of striving forward. At the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, President Xi delivered a keynote speech, emphasising that China and LAC countries are important members of the Global South. The two sides should join hands to inherit the glorious tradition of independence and autonomy, share the inherent right to development and revitalisation, and uphold the common pursuit of fairness and justice.

President Xi solemnly announced that China will launch five programmes, ranging from Solidarity, Development, Civilization to Peace and People-to-People Connectivity. Specifically, China will provide a 66 billion yuan (about US$9.2 billion) credit line and more than 15,000 scholarships and training opportunities to support LAC countries’ development. China will also initiate 300 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects. What’ is more, China will invite 300 members from political parties of CELAC member states every year to visit China in the next three years.

Moreover, the participating representatives of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting jointly signed the Beijing Declaration and the China-CELAC Joint Action Plan for Cooperation in Key Areas (2025-2027). The relevant cooperation plans undoubtedly add new impetus in building a China-LAC community with a shared future.

What is greatly encouraging is that Foreign Minister Johnson-Smith, against her challenging schedule, has been attending the Fourth Ministerial Meeting on behalf of Jamaica and worked with China and LAC countries to celebrate and pursue joint development. As a major country in the region, Jamaica has always been at the forefront of developing cooperation with China.

Jamaica is not only one of the first wave of Caribbean countries to sign the MoU on Belt and Road cooperation, but also the first country in the western hemisphere to sign the cooperation plan on jointly promoting the Belt and Road cooperation with China. The practical cooperation between our two countries has yielded valuable results:

Aid Projects

The Chinese aid projects such as the building of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Western Children’s Hospital along with the North-South Highway invested and constructed by Chinese companies have become the signature of our bilateral relationship.

The Confucius Institute is known as a golden signboard for China-Jamaica education cooperation and culture exchange since it has cultivated more than 2,000 Jamaicans equipped with Chinese language skills. Three thousand-strong outstanding Jamaican students and friends from all walks of life have benefited from Chinese scholarships and exchange programmes and have passed on the torch of friendship through their visits to China.

The Jamaican side has actively participated in major conferences, e.g. the China-CELAC Political Parties’ Forum, the China-Latin America Entrepreneurs Summit, the China-LAC Infrastructure Cooperation Forum, and the Forum on China-CELAC legal cooperation, which have further strengthened the basis for our practical cooperation.

I firmly believe that,with the opportunities brought by the Fourth Ministerial Meeting, the China-Jamaica cooperation list will be further enriched, and more and more benefits will be delivered to the two peoples.

As the Chinese saying goes, a partnership forged by the right approach transcends distance.

Long geographical distances have never stopped us from working together on common challenges. Despite the drastic changes of international landscape, China will always be a good friend and partner for LAC countries. I sincerely hope that the two sides will join hands and stride forward on their respective paths of modernisation, writing a new chapter in building a China-LAC community with a shared future.

Editor's note: H.E., Chen Daojiang is ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica and permanent representative of the People’s Republic of China to the International Seabed Authority. Send feedback to xiajamaica@gmail.com. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of Sino-Carib News.

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