CRI听力:China, Latin American Ministers to Gather in Beijing Promoting Cooperation

Zhu Qingqiao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official, says the meeting between the Chinese government and officials with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC, will focus on exploring more cooperation in areas including politics, diplomacy, trade and economics.

"We believe that development in our respective countries means opportunities for each other. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have a strong will to deepen cooperation with China. Both sides are eager to have higher-level cooperation, and this has become our common wish and a shared strategic choice."

CELAC, representing the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, includes all South American countries, certain Caribbean states, plus Mexico.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to help open the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC forum, which will run from Thursday to Friday.

The presidents of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela and the prime minister of the Bahamas will be among the leaders present at the sessions.

It's expected the meetings will approve a five-year cooperation plan.

Zhou Zhiwei is a researcher on Latin American affairs with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Over the past decade, Sino-Latin American ties have been growing rapidly, mainly helped by booming trade between the two sides. But we must also realize the relationships need to be reset, as both sides want to inject a new vitality to the relationship to fit in with China's current economic transformation. The China-CELAC forum needs to chart a path for the future development of relations between the two sides."

China is currently Latin America's second largest trading partner and the third largest source of foreign investment.

Trade volume last year to the end of November hit over 240 billion dollars, twice the volume achieved in 2009.

Back in July, during a visit to Brazil, President Xi Jinping proposed a 20-billion-US-dollar fund to finance infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

China has also offered a credit line of up to 10 billion US dollars to CELAC nations.

Zhou Zhiwei says Brazil, as the largest economy in Latin America, remains the lynch-pin for economic ties between China and the Latin American region.

"China-Latin America cooperation, especially in the sectors of infrastructure construction and industrial development, are helping Brazil promote regional economic integration. At the same time, we believe China and Brazil can be doing more to push ahead with economic and political reforms among China-CELAC countries."

China and Brazil both are members of the BRICS bloc, which groups another three emerging economies - Russia, India and South Africa.

Bilateral ties between China and Brazil have increased substantially in recent years.

In 2012, the two nations agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership, with bilateral trade topping 80 billion US dollars in 2013.

For CRI, I'm Yin Xiuqi.