China and OAS extend cooperation

NEW YORK: Chinese ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong signed two agreements of cooperation on Tuesday with Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). It's the latest indication that China and Latin America are expanding their social and education cooperation amid a ballooning bilateral trade.

The first agreement, an additional protocol to the agreement between China and the OAS, has renewed for five years the China-OAS Cooperation Fund, in which the Chinese government will contribute $1 million for OAS activities to promote OAS projects of international cooperation for governance and economic and social development in the region.

The second agreement inked is a memorandum of understanding between China's Ministry of Education and the OAS for human development and scholarships programs. It will provide 10 scholarships each year to undergraduate and graduate student who are nationals of OAS member states to study in China. The total scholarship will reach $300,000 each year for five years.