China, LAC countries strengthen ties

Officials and representatives from China and Latin American and Caribbean countries attending the Fourth China-LAC Local Governments Cooperation Forum in Yulin, Shaanxi province, on Friday emphasized the crucial role of local-level exchanges in deepening bilateral ties.

They underscored that strengthening local interactions is a key way of enhancing China-LAC cooperation, promoting mutually beneficial development and providing more benefits to both peoples.

Themed "Deepening Local Cooperation, Sharing Green Development", the forum brought together Chinese local government officials along with delegates from 30 provincial and municipal governments in 15 countries to discuss how to jointly tackle common urban challenges, including green transformation and cultural heritage protection.

Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said China and the LAC countries are both important members of the Global South, sharing extensive consensus on development and a strong spirit of cooperation.

"Economic and trade exchanges between China and the LAC countries have continued to strengthen, and cooperation in green energy, modern agriculture, the digital economy and other areas is flourishing," said Yang.

He added that local-level exchanges between the two sides have continuously expanded over time, largely driven by sister-city partnerships. To date, China and the LAC countries have established nearly 230 sister-city and sister-province partnerships.

Qiu Xiaoqi, special representative of the Chinese government on Latin American affairs, stressed the positive momentum in China-LAC relations.

"Recent public opinion surveys in the LAC countries indicate a growing positive perception of China among locals, demonstrating that the China-LAC friendship is deeply rooted in people's hearts," Qiu said.

He emphasized that local-level cooperation is crucial for fostering people-to-people connections between China and the LAC countries. Amid current global risks and challenges, both China and the LAC countries are striving for industrial upgrading and high-quality development. Qiu added that local government cooperation can play an even more significant role in this endeavor.

Francisco Valenzuela, political secretary of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua in the Esteli department and mayor of the city of Esteli, described the forum as a rare opportunity to strengthen urban friendship and translate goodwill among people into concrete cooperation and development actions.

Valenzuela said that despite being thousands of kilometers apart, cities in China and the LAC region face common challenges, including how to achieve development and enhance people's well-being.

The forum provides a chance for exchange, allowing cities to learn development knowledge from each other and enhance their ability to find solutions to societal problems, Valenzuela said.

Henrique Nobrega, president of the Brazil-China Friendship Association, said local governments are closer to the specific issues of urban development and the lives of residents. Cooperation between local governments can thus deliver more tangible benefits to groups such as small businesses and students.

Sister-city relationships can help local governments find new ways to address urban governance issues such as city development and transportation, thereby improving local economies, Nobrega added. He also expressed hope for more concrete cooperation between China and the LAC local governments in cutting-edge fields such as green energy and artificial intelligence in the future, bringing greater benefits to the people of both sides.

The forum, co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, also witnessed the signing of a letter of intent to establish a sister-city relationship between Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region and San Jose de Mayo, Uruguay.