On June 15, in the framework of the China-Latin America Conference Cycles, the talk "A decade of China-Central America trade and investment" was held.
The meeting was led by Sergio Rivero, Research Associate in Chinese Affairs of the General Secretariat of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO). Rivero is a political scientist with a master's degree in Economics from Renmin University of China and PhD Candidate in Public Administration and Business Sciences from the Central American Institute of Public Administration (ICAP).
During the conference, given through the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CKNI) platform, Rivero analyzed the trade and investment relations of China and the countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA) between 2011 and 2020.
The expert presented a study on how in a region dependent on trade with the United States and polarized with respect to the diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China, economic relations with Beijing have accelerated and expanded rapidly in the last decade.
According to Rivero, the Asian giant is among the five main trading partners of the six Central American countries that are part of the Central American Economic Integration System (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama).
“Regarding bilateral trade, the region's exports to China have maintained sustained growth since 2016, but imports have doubled in the last ten years. Therefore, the balance was beneficial to China", he said.
Rivero stated that the priorities of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project are the areas of investment in interconnectivity and infrastructure, financial cooperation and cultural exchanges, which respond to the needs of Central America to improve its global competitiveness.
However, international trade in this region has been limited by the lack of investment in quality infrastructure to improve its competitiveness at a global level.
To reverse this situation, Rivero proposed to take advantage of Chinese technical knowledge to promote e-commerce, improve access to markets for agricultural products and processed food, and expand tourism.
Finally, he stated that the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (SIECA), as a technical and administrative organ of the Economic Integration Process, has the challenge of assuming economic and social structural reforms, where China can be a strategic partner.
This talk is part of the China-Latin America Conference Cycle, organized jointly by FLACSO General Secretariat, CKNI, the Chinese Association for Latin American Studies (CALAS), the Center for Chinese and Latin American Studies (CECLA), the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the Latin American Association of Chinese Studies (ALAECh).
Excerpt from the article published by the News Argenchina site