Half of the globe apart, still good neighbors: Xi Jinping's affinity with Latin America

BEIJING -- "True friends always feel close to each other no matter the distance between them." Chinese President Xi Jinping has cited this household line from an ancient Chinese poem to characterize China's relations with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since becoming the Chinese head of state, Xi has flown five times across half of the globe to Latin America and visited 11 countries in the region. There, he met national leaders, witnessed the signing of cooperation deals, visited local farms, sipped Costa Rican coffee and was gifted an Argentine soccer jersey with his name on it ...

"There is a natural feeling of affinity between our peoples," Xi once said. As the Chinese leader is about to cross the vast oceans again for another journey to this colorful land filled with hope, his visit to Peru and Brazil will further boost the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides and inject new impetus into the building of a China-LatAm community with a shared future.