Monday, November 18, 2024 | 19 Digital
The 17th China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit began on Monday in Managua, with the participation of more than 220 delegates representing 29 countries, as well as 500 Chinese and Nicaraguan businessmen.
Presidential Advisor for Investment, Trade and International Cooperation, Laureano Ortega Murillo, thanked the People and Government of China for having decided to hold this important summit in Nicaragua.
He also especially thanked Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade, for working with the Government of Nicaragua to organize this important summit.
“From Nicaragua, the land of Dario and the land of Sandino, we are sharing with our Chinese brothers and with our Latin American and Caribbean brothers, an example of how China cooperates with the peoples of the world, especially with the Latin American and Caribbean peoples, with the peoples of the Global South, to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, to promote trade and investments, to promote rapprochement and exchange between our peoples, to promote peaceful coexistence among all the peoples of the world,” Ortega said.
He noted that 10 years ago President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative, which promotes trade and mutually beneficial cooperation with the peoples of the world through major infrastructure projects that facilitate economic and commercial exchange.
In this regard, he said that within the framework of this initiative, this work is being promoted with the People's Republic of China in all the countries of the world, and especially in Nicaragua.
Ortega recalled that on December 10, 2021, China and Nicaragua reestablished diplomatic relations, and since then bilateral cooperation has progressed at an extraordinary speed, managing to begin the construction of important logistics infrastructure projects that will contribute to trade, tourism, and greater interrelationship between peoples, and from Nicaragua sharing the benefit of these projects with the peoples of Central America and Latin America.
He reiterated to all Chinese businessmen who are visiting the country and those who are already working there that they are welcome in Nicaragua, that as citizens they have full rights and that their investment will be safe, protected with a transparent legal framework, and that foreign investment is promoted.
He thanked all delegations for their participation and presence at the 17th China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit
He explained that there are more than 250 businessmen from the People's Republic of China, more than 70 delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean, representatives from Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Peru, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Mexico, a broad representation, all working for the common good.
For his part, the Vice President of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the delegation of the People's Republic of China, Yang Zhen, expressed his pleasure to be in beautiful Managua, participating in this summit.
“First of all, I would like to express, on behalf of the Chinese Government, the most sincere congratulations on the holding of this summit and my thanks to all the friends dedicated to the friendly cooperation between China and LAC,” he said.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal to build a China-LAC community of common destiny. “Ten years ago, in Brasilia, during the meeting of leaders of China and LAC countries, President Xi Jinping proposed, for the first time, the creation of a community of common destiny between China and LAC and, together with Latin American leaders, announced the formation of the China-LAC Forum, which set the direction and guidance for the development of China-LAC relations in the New Era,” said Comrade Zhen.
Economic and trade cooperation between China and LAC has grown tremendously, covering more and more areas and reaching higher levels.
“For many years, China has maintained its position as the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean; in 2023, bilateral trade exceeded 489 billion dollars. Latin America and the Caribbean have become the second largest destination for foreign investment by Chinese companies; 22 countries in the region have signed agreements to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.
Yang Zhen said that since its establishment 17 years ago, the China-LAC Summit has played an important role by focusing on serving enterprises, promoting economic and trade cooperation between China and LAC, and deepening cultural exchanges between the two regions.
“The theme of this summit, Joining Forces, Creating Opportunities: New Horizons for China and Latin America and the Caribbean, is of great significance; the business sector is a driving force for promoting cooperation, as well as a builder and beneficiary of the development of relations. I hope that business friends will take advantage of this summit to strengthen exchange communication, discover cooperation opportunities, achieve mutual development and contribute more efforts to the open, innovative and shared development of China-LAC cooperation,” Zhen said.
The president of the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN), Ovidio Reyes, acknowledged that China's leadership in recent years in the global economy, technology and investments is indisputable.
Regarding Nicaragua, Ovidio highlighted, “our economy is solid; it has been growing for more than 4 years and is doing so at XNUMX percent, with low inflation, stability in its public finances, a low public debt, perhaps the lowest in the entire region, and we also have global financial stability and stability in the banking system with solidity, in its main indicators, in growth, both in deposits and in credit.”
This makes Nicaragua have favorable conditions for investment to flourish.
“We are in the line of access for all countries and Central America and we invite you to continue, just as with this spirit of visiting our country, to do so with your investments in our country and to also receive, from us, the goods and products that we offer, so that together all these businesses can win,” Reyes concluded.
To close the opening ceremony of the XVII China-LAC Summit, the President of the Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Ren Hongbin, thanked all those who made the summit possible, as well as the participants.
