LatAm, Caribbean policy paper issued

Military exchange mentioned for 1st time

The Chinese government on Thursday released an updated policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, the breadth of which shows China’s confidence in building an international community of common destiny, experts said.

The document of diplomacy directions was issued because “China has entered a crucial stage in achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” and “The development of China cannot be possible without the development of other developing countries, including countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” according to the paper.

The previous document was released in 2008 and was not as comprehensive.

The new paper was released just as President Xi Jinping wrapped up his trip to three Latin American nations: Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Xi’s visit heightened China- Latin America relations to a new level, experts said.

The paper covers comprehensive

and diversified fields of cooperation between China and Latin America, and addresses many new areas, such as maritime and space cooperation.

“I don’t see that anything has been ignored in the paper, it almost covers every field we can think of,” Jiang Shixue, director of the Latin American Studies Center at Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The paper states that China will actively explore cooperation between the two sides in “communication and remote sensing satellites, satellite data application, aerospace infrastructure, space education and training, and promote space technology application in disaster prevention and mitigation, agricultural and forestry monitoring, climate change and other fields.”

On maritime issues, it states China will explore cooperation in “marine science and technology, marine ecological environment protection, marine climate change, marine disaster prevention and mitigation and other fields, and carry out marine economic development in accordance with local conditions, so as to promote the development of maritime affairs between China and Latin America.”

Many new elements and hot topics in international politics, such as cyber security and implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and global economic governance, are also mentioned, which shows that the paper is forward- looking, Jiang said.

The paper also expressed that relations between China and the Latin American region are not exclusive but open to “third parties.” It said China is ready to carry out trilateral cooperation with relevant countries outside the region and international organizations under the premise that such cooperation is proposed, agreed upon and dominated by countries in the continent.

A “third party” indicates the US, which sees Latin America and the Caribbean as its backyard, Jiang said, though the paper did not mention the name of any specific country.

The US is worried about outsiders getting a foothold on the continent, said Guo Cunhai, deputy director of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “Although Secretary of State John Kerry said the Monroe Doctrine is over, it only means the US will change the measures to control the continent, but its will is not going to be changed.”

More military ties

On military cooperation, the paper also mentioned counter- terrorism, military trade and military technology for the first time.

“As the US cares most about military cooperation, it is foreseeable that Sino- Latino military cooperation will deepen, from the personnel exchanges of the past to comprehensive cooperation in the future,” Guo said.

“It needs to be clarified that SinoLatin American military cooperation will not target a third party,” Guo said. “It only targets non- traditional security problems like terrorism and natural disasters.”

Jiang said the paper also stressed that China will treat the whole continent as a community and enhance multilateral cooperation rather than merely focusing on bilateral cooperation with specific countries.

Experts said Latin American countries also need to further develop relations with China.

“Xi’s latest trip to Latin America marks the best era for the relationship between China and this continent, and these relationships are developing quicker than ever,” Guo said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Latin American countries are at a crucial stage of development and have a strong desire to deepen their relationship with China, Xinhua reported.

China is now more confident it can build a community of shared destiny with Latin America and the Caribbean and also other parts of the world, Wan Zhe, chief economist of China National Gold Group Corporation, told the Global Times.

The paper stressed China’s value of sharing and its “win- win” mentality on international cooperation and participation of global governance, Wan said.

“So in any area, cooperation will be based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, mutual communication, and mutual governance,” he said.