China's positive image highlighted in Colombia: media

WASHINGTON - A new poll showed that the responses from the Colombian government, public, and various industries to growing Chinese investment have been mostly positive, The Diplomat has reported.

According to the public opinion poll conducted recently by Colombia Risk Analysis (CRA), a risk consultancy in Bogota, 67 percent of the general population believed that Colombia should strengthen economic relations with China, said the report, which was published Wednesday.

Nearly two-thirds of the respondents agreed that Chinese investment benefits the country's growth and development while creating quality employment, the report added.

CRA's Communications Communicator and Latin American Specialist Sara Torres told The Diplomat that China was simply answering the country's needs.

"Latin American countries still have to build roads, bridges, and schools; the world keeps spinning. If China is the only country that is offering alternatives to the countries, if there are no other options, then these countries will go with the Chinese, because, in the end, they are pragmatic," she was quoted as saying.

According to the report, Torres was also optimistic about China's ability to connect Colombian cities to the country's periphery, like the Amazon and the Pacific coast, raising living standards throughout the country.