Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a series of high-level meetings on Wednesday, May 11, with counterparts from Latin America and Sudan, marking the conclusion of a pivotal forum between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The diplomatic engagements were held at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, reinforcing China’s expanding influence in the Global South.
Wang met individually with Honduras’ Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina García, Bolivian Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente, and Sudanese Foreign Minister Omer Siddiq. The meetings followed the broader China-CELAC Forum ministerial conference, which Wang hailed as a “success” that highlighted unity on key global issues.
Wang emphasized that all participating nations voiced a strong shared position in “opposing unilateral and bullying behaviors, safeguarding the basic norm of international relations and our common, justified rights.” This collective stance echoed China’s growing role as a leading voice against Western-dominated global governance and its advocacy for multilateralism.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the forum, expressing a strong commitment to deeper China-CELAC ties through comprehensive political, economic, academic, and security cooperation. Xi’s announcement reflects Beijing’s strategy to cement long-term partnerships across Latin America, a region increasingly important to its foreign policy and trade strategy.
Over the past decade, China-CELAC ties have evolved into a key pillar of South-South cooperation. Since the forum’s inception in 2015 during a landmark Beijing summit, it has institutionalized China-Latin America relations through the Beijing Declaration, a five-year cooperation plan, and operational mechanisms that guide regular engagements.
This framework has driven a dramatic surge in trade, which exceeded $500 billion in 2024 — a 40-fold increase since 2000 — fueled in large part by China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Beijing Invests Heavily In Regional Projects
The forum has also proven resilient to political turbulence. After Brazil’s temporary withdrawal from CELAC in 2020, the alliance was revitalized under Mexico’s leadership in 2021. High-level exchanges, including Xi’s 2015 speech stressing “comprehensive cooperative partnership,” have reinforced a mutual commitment to non-interference, development, and global multipolarity.
The May 2025 summit in Beijing further solidified these efforts, as China pledged 66 billion yuan (approximately $9.1 billion) in development credit. Thousands of scholarships were also announced, aimed at fostering digital transformation, green energy initiatives, and academic cooperation.
From an economic standpoint, China’s footprint in the region is expanding rapidly. More than 200 BRI-backed projects, including Peru’s Chancay Port and regional satellite technology programs, have collectively created over one million jobs. These efforts have supported a diversification of Latin American exports beyond raw materials to include manufactured goods and high-tech sectors.
Free trade agreements with countries such as Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nicaragua have further entrenched China as the region’s second-largest trading partner. With its appetite for commodities like soybeans, beef, crude oil, and rare earth minerals, China’s role in regional development continues to grow, even as CELAC nations remain cautious about overreliance.
As the China-CELAC Forum marks its 10th anniversary, both sides are charting a future anchored in renewable energy, digital innovation, and inclusive growth. While opportunities abound, Latin American leaders are also navigating concerns around economic dependency and strategic autonomy.
Nonetheless, this deepening partnership signals a shift in global power dynamics — one where geographic distance is no longer a barrier to robust strategic alignment.
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