Amid global shifts, China-CELAC ties offer certainty and opportunity

A container terminal at the Rio de Janeiro Port, Brazil, March 20, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

ByDaniel Wang, Xiang Menghuai

In July 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba and held a historic meeting in Brasilia with Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) leaders, which established a China-CELAC comprehensive cooperative partnership and launched the China-CELAC Forum.

The first ministerial meeting of the forum was held in 2015. The 10th anniversary of the event will be celebrated on May 13, when the fourth ministerial meeting is held.

The forum marks a new stage in the cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. It is a natural development of Global South cooperation, bringing together economies that despite their different economic models and levels of development strive for the same goals: sustainable and inclusive growth, science and technology development, poverty reduction, as well as peace and stability.

The cooperation under the framework of the forum has been remarkably fruitful. China is now the largest trading partner of many Latin American countries. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, bilateral trade between China and Latin America increased from around $236 billion in 2015 to $518.46 billion in 2024. "(Within) just two decades, China has transformed from an insignificant player to a dominant force in Latin America," the European Parliamentary Research Service noted.

The complementarity of their economies and alignment of strategic needs are the foundation of the deepening partnership. China, the world's largest developing nation and global manufacturing hub, requires vast quantities of raw materials – including energy, minerals and agricultural products. Resource-rich Latin American nations such as Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina have emerged as stable suppliers to meet this demand.

Besides manufactured products, China is also exporting capital and technology, something that LAC countries with severe infrastructure bottlenecks direly need. Compared to other regions, LAC offers a peaceful and politically stable environment where foreign investments enjoy legal protection, making it an attractive destination for Chinese investments.

Since the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. foreign policy statement that established a separate sphere of influence for the United States and Europe in the Americas, was announced in 1823, Latin America has historically been treated as "America's backyard," with its politics and economies under the influence of the United States.

But China has a different approach in its partnership. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, "There is only mutual support in this cooperation, no geopolitical calculations." It indicates that the rise of China does not mean replacing one dominant power with another and China will not treat LAC countries as pawns in any geopolitical rivalry.

This message certainly resonates with the Latin American states that view China as a strategic counterbalance to reduce their dependency on the U.S. and achieve greater policy autonomy. It also presents an opportunity to reshape the international order in a more equal and cooperative manner. Economic exchange does not have to be a zero-sum game, and international relations do not have to be about dominance and control.

People visit an exhibition during the 14th China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit, southwest China's Chongqing, November 16, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

New global threats and opportunities

As the world undergoes a systemic shift, the U.S., fearing the loss of its global hegemonic power, is trying to destabilize the global order that used to cater to its interest well until very recently. The global economy is in turmoil due to the tariff war unleashed by the U.S., and Washington's increasingly aggressive stance towards other countries raises questions about U.S. reliability and soundness as a partner and ally.

Changes in American international and domestic politics are causing turbulence, posing a great threat to global development, particularly for Latin America, which is geographically close to the U.S., and China, the major target of the U.S. measures.

However, this changing landscape also brings opportunities for both China and Latin America. As U.S. political and economic influence wanes, cooperation between China and Latin America is expected to grow stronger. For instance, many Brazilians think that the Brazilian agriculture and aviation industries can fill up some of the vacuum American producers are going to leave in the Chinese market. The friendship of Latin American countries also reassures China that any effort to isolate it diplomatically will likely fail.

This is in line with what Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said during the 2025 CELAC in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on April 9, 2025. He expressed concerns about the trade wars and the erosion of multilaterally agreed-on rules as critical threats to the continent while affirming that "the interference of old and new powers has been – and continues to be – a constant shadow."

The fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, along with President Lula's visit to China, marks a milestone in this partnership. It is a chance to reaffirm this mutually beneficial cooperation at a critical period for both the global economy and international relations.

Daniel Wang, a special commentator for CGTN, is a professor of law at the FGV Law School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Xiang Menghuai, a special commentator for CGTN, is a PhD candidate at Tsinghua University.