Beijing and S. America make plans for forum

A forum that groups China, Latin American and Caribbean nations will help advance ties between the country and the region, experts said.

The decision to set up such a mechanism came at a meeting between President Xi Jinping and leaders from those nations on Thursday in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

Liu Yuqin, a researcher of Latin American studies at the China Foundation for International Studies and former Chinese ambassador to Cuba and Chile, said the forum is a platform for comprehensive cooperation between China and Latin America, and that its establishment is the natural result of years of cooperation.