China and Colombia to create closer ties in business and trade sectors

Benefiting from dividends brought by the rapid development of the Belt and Road Initiative and their complementary economic structure, economic and trade ties between China and Colombia will be reinforced and enriched in the next phase, said experts and government officials.

Eager to boost two-way trade and business connections with the South American country, China has conducted a feasibility study on a China-Colombia free trade agreement and encouraged its companies to develop manufacturing, infrastructure development projects and service-related businesses in Colombia in recent years.

"Economic and trade cooperation is the cornerstone of China-Colombia relations, and despite the challenging international situation over the past several years, their economic cooperation has grown steadily, demonstrating strong resilience," said Wang Xueling, a researcher specializing in regional economic development at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

"As China accelerates the building of its dual-circulation growth pattern, the country is unwaveringly pursuing a win-win opening-up strategy and promoting an open world economy, which will provide more cooperation for countries around the world, including those in Colombia and other South American economies," he added.

The bilateral trade value between China and Colombia surged 13.5 percent year-on-year to $22.64 billion in 2022, statistics from China's General Administration of Customs showed.

The South American nation's exports to China include coffee, fresh flowers, cocoa, bananas, avocados, limes, coal, copper and soybean oil. China ships mainly new energy buses, computers, telecommunication equipment, trains, trucks, steel, lighting products, medical equipment, building materials, textiles and household appliances to Colombia.

Creating favorable conditions to shore up bilateral trade aside, State-owned China Harbour Engineering Co, or CHEC, a subsidiary of Beijing-headquartered China Communications Construction, is building the 23.96-kilometer-long Bogota Metro Line 1 project in Colombia. This big-ticket project is planned to be completed by 2028.

Some stations within this project allow for fast transfers to the bus system and incorporate local commuting habits by providing bicycle docking points. This not only reduces the commute from more than two hours to 27 minutes but results in an annual reduction of 71,923 cubic meters of gasoline consumption and more than 170,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, said Ding Wen, CHEC's executive general manager for this project.

It will provide great convenience for commuters in Bogota and have a far-reaching effect on the future urban layout as well as long-term development of Bogota, he said.

Li Jin, chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute in Beijing, said the metro project in Bogota will drive the development of CHEC across the whole industry chain of rail transit projects and enhance the company's brand influence in the Americas and other parts of the world.

Highlighting that Chinese companies operating in Colombia have done a great job with sustainable growth, Sergio Cardenas, Colombian ambassador to China, said China's achievements in clean energy development, greenhouse gas emission control, and other areas make it an exemplary model for the world to learn from and conduct exchanges with.

Cardenas hailed China's remarkable progress in its economic and social development, particularly in charting a path toward sustainable development. This achievement holds significant lessons for countries worldwide.

The Colombian diplomat said that the world is facing major challenges such as extreme climate events and ecological imbalances, making China's participation in global climate change governance crucial.

Natalia Tobon, commercial counselor at the Colombian embassy in Beijing, noted that Colombia's rich cultural heritage, natural wonders and distinctive cultural ambience will attract more Chinese tourists to visit.

"Colombia has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for its cultural and natural wealth," she said. "We have nine world heritage sites, the most distinctive of which is the coffee cultural landscape, a place that the Chinese will surely love as they can experience the culture behind the coffee industry."