Deeper Sino-Latin American trade cooperation urged

China should seek deeper trade and investment cooperation with Latin America amid the global economic slowdown and sluggish international demand, senior officials said on Wednesday.

China, as the biggest emerging market, "shares increasing complementarities with Latin American nations, the world's most dynamic economies. Deepening bilateral trade diversifies China's exports and also helps the global economic recovery," Abdulahat Abdurixit, vice-chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said in a keynote speech in the 6th China-LAC Business Summit, which is being held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, from Wednesday to Thursday.

Bilateral trade increased about 30 percent annually since 2001 to reach $241.5 billion in 2011, while Chinese investment in Latin America totaled $10.1 billion in 2011, 16.8 percent of China's outbound investment last year.