In September and October 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the construction of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” collectively known as the “Belt and Road” initiative. As an important international public product and cooperation platform provided by China to the world, the Belt and Road Initiative has received wide support and active participation from the international community. As of January 6, 2023, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents on joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with 151 countries and 32 international organizations, including 21 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean (hereinafter referred to as “Latin America”). In recent years, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative by China and Latin America has strongly promoted the development of China–Latin America relations and has become an important nexus in promoting the building of a China–Latin America community of common destiny. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative, this article looks at the current situation and achievements made in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America and explores the challenges and development prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Our aim is to provide a practical reference that will help China and all participating parties solidly promote high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

I. Progress and achievements in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative by China and Latin America 

The initial participants of the Belt and Road Initiative were mainly Asian and European countries, with membership gradually expanding to other regions. In May 2017, Latin America was formally included in the cooperation framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. On May 10, the Leading Group for Promoting the Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative issued the Building the Belt and Road: Concepts, Practice, and China’s Contribution. The document clearly stated that “Latin America and the Caribbean are welcome to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative,” and emphasized that China is committed to aligning development strategies with Latin American countries and “using the concepts, principles, and cooperation methods of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative to promote practical cooperation in various fields and continuously expand common interests.” On May 14, President Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation: “The Belt and Road Initiative is rooted in the historical soil of the Silk Road, with a focus on the Asian, European, and African continents, but at the same time, is open to all friends. Whether they are from Asia, Europe, Africa, or the Americas, they are all international partners cooperating in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.” The “Joint Communiqué of the Roundtable Summit of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation” published on May 15 clearly stated that “this initiative strengthens connectivity between Asia and Europe, while also opening up to other regions such as Africa and Latin America.” 

On November 17, 2017, China and Panama signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, making Panama the first Latin American country to join the Belt and Road Initiative. Therefore, 2017 is regarded as the “first year of China–Latin America alignment in Belt and Road construction.” As of April 2023, 21 of the 33 independent countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have signed cooperation documents with China on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Since the 18th Party Congress, China–Latin America relations have developed rapidly, laying a favorable foundation for cooperation between the two sides in jointly building the “Belt and Road.” At present, Latin America, as a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has become an important participant in the Belt and Road Initiative. China and Latin America have made substantial progress and achieved remarkable results in their cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, setting an example for South-South cooperation. 

In terms of policy communication, China and Latin America adhere to the basic concept of “joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits” and have reached broad consensus in many areas such as developing the economy, improving the people’s livelihood, promoting overall China–Latin America cooperation, and implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The mechanisms for China–Latin America cooperation are constantly improving. Since the 18th Party Congress, the heads of state of China and Latin America have maintained efficient communication, intergovernmental cooperation has been continuously strengthened, political mutual trust has continued to deepen, and the two sides have actively built multi-level and multi-field policy communication and exchange mechanisms. In July 2014, Xi Jinping attended the China–Latin America and the Caribbean Leaders’ Meeting held in Brasilia, where he proposed a new “five-in-one” pattern of China–Latin America relations and a new “1+3+6” cooperation framework and announced the formal establishment of the China–CELAC Forum. In January 2015, the first ministerial meeting of the China–CELAC Forum was held in Beijing, marking the official launch of the forum. The China–CELAC Forum includes China and 33 member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). It aims to promote a comprehensive cooperative partnership founded on equality, mutual benefit, and common development between China and Latin America. China and Latin America have jointly formulated a series of plans to effectively promote the sustainable development of the forum member states, such as the China–Latin American and Caribbean Countries Cooperation Plan (2015–2019), the Joint Action Plan of China–CELAC Cooperation (Priority Areas) (2019–2021), the Special Statement on the Belt and Road Initiative of the Second Ministerial Meeting of the China–CELAC Forum, and the Joint Action Plan of China–CELAC Cooperation (Priority Areas) (2022–2024). There is no doubt that the China–CELAC Forum mechanism and the multiple sub-forums under its framework play an important role in promoting the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative between China and Latin America. Specifically at the national level, China and 21 Latin American countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative have signed a number of cooperation documents and framework agreements covering various areas such as trade, investment, infrastructure, science and technology (S&T), culture, and health. This cooperation is strategically aligned with the medium- and long-term development plans of Latin American countries and has effectively promoted practical cooperation between China and Latin America. 

In terms of infrastructure connectivity, China–Latin America cooperation continues to achieve new results. Under the Belt and Road framework, a number of China–Latin America cooperation projects have been carried out smoothly, covering areas such as transportation, electricity, communications engineering, energy, and urban construction. These projects have played a positive role in improving the outdated infrastructure construction in Latin American countries. Latin America has become the third-largest market for China’s overseas engineering contracting business. Between 2005 and 2020, China put into operation or started construction on a total of 138 infrastructure projects in Latin America, with total project funding of more than U.S. $94 billion, creating more than 600,000 local jobs. Taking Panama, one of the first countries in the region to join the Belt and Road Initiative, as an example, the Amador Convention Center built by Chinese companies opened in 2019 and has become the largest and most advanced international convention and exhibition center in Central America. The Chancay Port project in Peru is one of the landmark projects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Once completed, it will become an important hub port in Latin America and a gateway port to the Pacific. As of the end of March 2023, Argentina’s Belgrano freight railway reconstruction project reached 94.63% completion. Thanks to the project, the annual freight volume of the Belgrano Railway increased from 760,000 tons in 2013 to 2.65 million tons in 2023, driving economic development and employment growth in Argentina’s inland provinces. With the orderly progress of Belt and Road projects in Latin America, Chinese technology, “Chinese Construction” (中国建设), and “Chinese Smart Manufacturing” (中国智造) have become China’s new calling card. 

In terms of trade facilitation, China–Latin America trade relations have grown steadily, the scale of economic and trade cooperation has continued to expand, and leapfrog development has been achieved. Since 2012, China has maintained its position as Latin America’s second-largest trading partner. In 2012, the total trade volume between China and Latin America stood at U.S. $261.2 billion, and in 2022, the total trade volume between China and Latin America reached U.S. $485.79 billion, exceeding U.S. $450 billion for the second consecutive year. From January to February 2023, the total trade volume between China and Latin America was RMB 497.552 billion, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year. Looking at areas of investment, Latin America is the second largest destination for China’s overseas investment. According to the data, China’s investment stock in Latin America was U.S. $86.096 billion at the end of 2013, U.S. $386.892 billion at the end of 2017, and U.S. $693.74 billion by the end of 2021. In 2021 alone, China’s investment in Latin America was U.S. $26.16 billion, an increase of 57% over the previous year and accounting for 14.6% of China’s outbound direct investment that year. The China–Latin American and Caribbean Countries Cooperation Plan (2015–2019) mentions that “we will strive to achieve a bilateral trade volume of U.S. $500 billion and a bilateral investment stock of at least U.S. $250 billion within 10 years.” The former goal is expected to be achieved by the end of 2023, and the latter has already been achieved and exceeded ahead of schedule. The continued growth of China–Latin America trade and investment from China have undoubtedly been an important driving force of post-COVID economic recovery in Latin America. 

In terms of financial connectivity, China and Latin America have carried out financial cooperation in various forms and made positive progress. As early as January 2009, the People’s Bank of China, acting on behalf of China, officially joined the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the main source of funds for the social and economic development of Latin America. Platforms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the China Development Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of China have also provided conditions for the facilitation of investment and financing in Latin American countries. In addition, to promote China–Latin America cooperation, China has launched a series of platforms and cooperation mechanisms such as the China–Latin America Cooperation Fund, the China–Latin America Capacity Cooperation Investment Fund, and the Special Loan Program for China–Latin America Infrastructure Project. Data from the 2022 RMB Internationalization Report shows that as of 2022, China has signed bilateral local currency swap agreements with the central banks of Argentina, Brazil, Suriname, and Chile. The Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, and other banks have opened branches in many Latin American countries. RMB internationalization has also made positive progress in Latin America. In November 2022, the RMB clearing bank services were officially launched in Argentina. In February 2023, China and Brazil signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish RMB clearing arrangements. The continuous improvement of China–Latin America funds clearing arrangements and payment settlement channels has provided added convenience in China–Latin America bilateral trade and investment, effectively improved the quality of capital circulation, and created new opportunities for the coordinated development of bilateral financial institutions. 

In terms of people-to-people connectivity, China and Latin America have carried out extensive cooperation in culture, education, tourism, health, scientific research, media, and people-to-people exchanges. Projects and activities such as the China–Latin America Cultural Exchange Year, the “Bridge to the Future” Training Camp for Young Leaders from China and Latin America, the “China–Latin America Science and Technology Partnership Program,” the China–Latin America News Exchange Center Press Corps, and the China–Latin America Civilization Dialogue Forum are progressing in an orderly manner, and the distance between the hearts and minds of the Chinese and Latin American people is gradually narrowing. The Confucius Institute website shows that there are 52 Confucius Institutes or Confucius Classrooms in Latin America, located in 23 Latin American countries. It is worth emphasizing that the Confucius Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil is the first Confucius Institute in Latin America that specializes in traditional Chinese medicine. This institute has made positive contributions to promoting the international dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine. The vigorous development of China–Latin America relations in the new era has become an important driving force behind the translation of Chinese and Latin American literature. Contemporary Chinese writers such as Mo Yan, Liu Cixin, and Mai Jia have begun to enter the horizons of Latin American readers. In the short span of seven years from 2013 to 2019, “a total of 360 works of Latin American literature were published in China, accounting for 35% of all Chinese translations of Latin American literature in the past 70 years.” According to the author’s statistics, more than 150 new titles were added just from January 2020 to March 2023. China studies in Latin America are developing rapidly. As of the end of 2019, there were 66 China–related research institutions in Latin America. Academic networks focusing on contemporary China studies, such as the Latin America and the Caribbean Network on China, the Brazilian Network for China Studies, and the Venezuelan Center of China Studies, have gradually taken shape, effectively promoting the construction of the China–Latin America academic community. 

II. Main challenges facing the high-quality development of China–Latin America Belt and Road joint construction 

As a systematic project involving a wide range of areas and a long duration, the construction of the Belt and Road also faces a series of challenges and problems as it moves forward. At the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to promote high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road. Compared with Asia, Europe, Africa, and other regions, Latin America is the farthest from China and joined the Belt and Road relatively late. Therefore, the challenges faced by China and Latin America in the high-quality development of jointly building the Belt and Road are more complex. These challenges are mainly concentrated in the following areas. 

(1) The harsh geopolitical situation in Latin America has hampered the progress of Belt and Road projects 

Taking an international perspective, we can see that whether in terms of history, language, and culture or economic and trade relations, Latin American countries have close ties with Europe and the United States. In the 19th century, after Latin American countries broke free from European control through independence movements, they gradually became the “backyard” of the United States. The United States vigorously promoted the “Monroe Doctrine,” emphasized its leadership throughout the Americas, and frequently interfered in the affairs of Latin America. In recent years, with the rapid development of China–Latin America relations and with more and more Latin American countries joining the “Belt and Road” initiative, Western countries believe that this has damaged their interests and influence in Latin America. The United States, in particular, regards Latin America as another important region in its strategic competition with China. The United States constantly adjusts its policies toward Latin America, suppressing left-wing regimes in Latin America and introducing a series of hedging mechanisms in an attempt to hinder China–Latin America cooperation and interfere with the advancement of “Belt and Road” projects in Latin America. For example, in 2019, the United States launched the “Growth in the Americas” initiative, which aims to strengthen cooperation between the United States and Latin American countries in the fields of energy and infrastructure construction. The planning and goals of the “Growth in the Americas” initiative share many similarities with the “Belt and Road” initiative. The U.S. intentions with regard to China are self-evident. Since its establishment, the Inter-American Development Bank has maintained the practice of appointing Latin American officials to serve as its president to ensure that the bank can provide financial services for the development of Latin American countries in a more independent and fair manner. However, this practice was broken by the United States. In September 2020, Trump proposed Mauricio Claver-Carone, then Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the National Security Council, for this post and he was elected as the new president. This incident reflects the United States’ attempt to increase its control over Latin America in the financial field and upgrade its counterbalance mechanisms against China. In addition, the United States has stepped up its public opinion offensive, manipulating some Latin American media to maliciously slander the “Belt and Road” initiative and deliberately discrediting related projects. 

From a regional perspective, Latin America is vast and has many countries. There are conflicts of interest between some sub-regions or neighboring countries, and it is difficult to reach consensus on certain projects, resulting in slow progress. This especially affects some multilateral projects, such as the “Two Oceans Railway” construction project that spans the South American continent and connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As early as 2014, China, Brazil, and Peru issued a joint statement and established a working group to advance the project. Since then, despite many rounds of negotiations and repeated discussions, no substantial progress has been made on the project. Not only is it difficult to reach a consensus among the three governments, but there is also fierce competition among the different regions and provinces in Brazil and Peru over the potential benefits. In addition, due to the differences in functions and goals between the central and local governments, many “Belt and Road” projects confront conflicts between national and local interests during their promotion. 

(2) The unstable situation in Latin American countries has increased the risks to the high-quality development of China–Latin America’s Belt and Road joint construction 

From a political perspective, since the start of the 21st century, there has been fierce competition between left-wing and right-wing political parties in Latin American countries, and the political situation has been unstable. Frequent changes of government have led to changing policies, making it more difficult for China to establish and maintain long-term mutual trust and cooperation with local governments. In addition, factors such as the weak governance capacity of Latin American governments and the fragmentation of their bureaucratic systems have interfered with the implementation of “Belt and Road” projects and greatly reduced the efficiency and speed of implementation of many cooperation agreements. 

From an economic perspective, Latin American countries have uneven levels of economic development. Data from the World Bank in 2021 shows that there are 8 high-income countries and 19 upper-middle-income countries in Latin America, but due to the presence of some lower-middle and low-income countries, the per capita GDP in Latin America is only U.S. $8,327.6. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sluggish recovery of the global economy, the economic situation in Latin American countries has further deteriorated. They generally face difficulties such as high inflation rates, fiscal imbalances, foreign exchange shortages, and heavy debt burdens. Therefore, overall, the investment environment in Latin American countries is not good. The projects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America are mostly concentrated in the infrastructure and energy industries and they involve large investment amounts and long construction periods. Chinese companies generally face risks such as long investment recovery periods, low rates of return, cost-benefit imbalances, and debt defaults. 

From a social perspective, poverty and unemployment rates in Latin America have remained high. According to estimates by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), the proportion of people living in poverty in Latin America was 32.1% in 2022, with 13.1% living in extreme poverty. The informal employment rate in Latin American countries continues to rise, and in some countries, informal employment accounts for about 70% of net employment. This phenomenon reflects the lack of social security mechanisms and severe underemployment in Latin American countries. The growing social inequality and disparity between the rich and the poor have led to serious social problems and rising crime rates. Latin America is one of the most unsafe regions in the world. Data shows that of the top 25 global cities with the highest crime index in 2023, 13 are in Latin America. Venezuela has the highest crime index of any country at 82.65, while 22 Latin American countries have a crime index of over 50. Therefore, when Belt and Road projects are promoted in Latin America, they not only face the potential of government default and financial risks, but also risks arising from local security conditions. 

(3) China and Latin America still need to improve their “soft connectivity” and “hearts and minds connectivity”

Due to factors such as geographical location and language barriers, China and Latin America lack sufficient mutual understanding, and their alignment of international rules and standards is not smooth. There is still a need to strengthen communication and build consensus. There are many Latin American countries, and their laws, regulations, and industrial policies in fields such as finance, taxation, labor, environmental protection, and energy differ from one another. Both China and Latin America lack understanding on this point, which increases communication costs and barriers to alignment when promoting Belt and Road projects. It is true that the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative by China and Latin America has a relatively clear top-level design, but it lacks more specific specialized mechanisms, such as international coordination mechanisms and work alignment mechanisms specifically for promoting the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America, assurance mechanisms specifically for promoting trade and investment facilitation and sustainable development of investment and financing, multilateral consultation mechanisms specifically for dealing with issues in project construction relating to environmental protection, laws and regulations, and communication with local indigenous peoples and trade unions, and coordination, arbitration, and dispute settlement mechanisms related to the Belt and Road Initiative projects. In addition, Chinese companies themselves also need to improve their level of internationalization, legal awareness, and environmental awareness, and strengthen their understanding of international standards and the national conditions, laws, and regulations of the target countries. 

III. Development prospects and suggestions for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America 

Since the 18th Party Congress, China–Latin America relations have continued to deepen, and have entered their best period in history. At present, China–Latin America bilateral relations are entering a period of optimal strategic opportunity, providing new conditions and broad prospects for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road. 

After experiencing the “pink wave,” Latin America showed a trend of “retreat on the left and advance on the right” around 2017 but has shown a trend of “swinging back to the left” in recent years. Currently, countries such as Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Honduras are all ruled by left-wing governments. “Latin America has returned to a situation where the left wing is in the majority, which has been interpreted by the outside world as a new ‘pink wave’.” In general, rule by left-wing governments is more conducive to the development of China–Latin America relations and to the continuous advancement of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America in the direction of high-quality development. For a long time, in the face of the continued intensification of strategic competition for Latin America by the United States and other Western countries, some Latin American countries were wavering in their attitudes, tending to use hedging strategies to balance their relative closeness and distance with major powers in order to maximize their own interests. In addition, when Western countries forced countries in the region to “take sides,” they were often forced to accept this. Compared with right-wing governments, left-wing governments in Latin America are more likely to unite to resist hegemony and power politics. Therefore, the current political ecosystem in Latin America constitutes a major factor favorable to deepening China–Latin America relations. 

Since 2017, China’s diplomacy has continued to make new breakthroughs in Latin America, and China’s “circle of friends” in Latin America has continued to expand. In June 2017, Panama established diplomatic relations with China and joined the Belt and Road Initiative in November of the same year. The flourishing China–Brazil relations have had a positive effect in Central America. El Salvador and Nicaragua established or resumed diplomatic relations with China in August 2018 and December 2021, respectively, and joined the Belt and Road Initiative in November 2018 and January 2022. On March 26, 2023, Honduras announced the severance of its so-called “diplomatic relations” with Taiwan and the establishment of diplomatic relations with China. In April 2023, Brazilian President Lula visited China. The two countries signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents and issued a joint statement covering issues such as deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership and addressing climate change. As a major Latin American country, Brazil has been exploring joining the Belt and Road Initiative. We hope that Brazil can become a member of the Belt and Road family and deepen cooperation with China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

In the economic and financial fields, China and Latin America have also welcomed more cooperation opportunities. Economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America is highly complementary, and the differences in resource endowments and industrial structures between the two sides have created a vast space for mutually beneficial cooperation. As a region with a large number of developing countries, Latin America needs a high level of financial support to promote development. A report released by CEPAL in 2017 pointed out that in order to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Latin America needs a total of 3 trillion to 14 trillion U.S. dollars in financing in areas such as social development, environmental protection, energy, agriculture, and infrastructure construction. The Latin American economy suffered a heavy blow from the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall international situation. According to CEPAL, Latin American countries will require around U.S. $571 billion in external financing in 2023. At present, Latin America’s endogenous drivers of growth are limited, and there are huge difficulties in internal financial support. This provides an opportunity for China and Latin America to strengthen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Since January 2023, with the continuous improvement of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures in various countries, the cross-border flow of factors such as goods, services, and personnel has basically returned to normal. The resumption of economic exchanges will further promote China–Latin America Belt and Road cooperation. 

The development of bilateral and multilateral political, economic, and trade relations between China and Latin American countries has become an important driving force for the continuous and positive development of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America. Today, the world is in a new period of turbulence and change. The global economy is in severe recession and all countries are facing severe challenges in their development. In order to achieve the high-quality development of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America, we provide the following suggestions regarding important areas to be promoted. 

First, we should consolidate political mutual trust and strategic cooperation between China and Latin America and deepen and expand global partnerships. We should seize the opportunity of the current new “pink wave” in Latin America, further increase political mutual trust with Latin American countries, and attract more countries to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road. We should make full use of the Belt and Road Initiative as an international cooperation platform, strengthen exchanges with Latin American countries to jointly discuss, create, and share in the benefits of concepts such as global governance views and the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, deepen and expand equal, open, and cooperative global partnerships, practice multilateralism together, and jointly promote the building of a fair and just global governance system. Confronted with the trend of “anti-globalization,” China and Latin American countries should adhere to multilateralism and free trade, promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, continuously consolidate a solid foundation of economic globalization, and promote the building of an open, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory world economic order. 

Second, we should improve China–Latin America cooperation mechanisms and promote the “soft connectivity” of rules and standards. On the basis of continuing to strengthen the China–CELAC Forum mechanism, we should promote the establishment and improvement of cooperation mechanisms for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Latin America. We should fully consider the strategic interests of different sub-regions and countries in Latin America and segment and refine Belt and Road cooperation mechanisms. In October 2019, the China–Caribbean Conference on Belt and Road Initiative Implementation was successfully held in Grenada. This Belt and Road multilateral cooperation framework, led by summit forums and supported by regional dialogues and multilateral platforms in professional fields, deserves to be promoted to more sub-regions. We should strengthen the effective alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and the development policies and plans of the Latin America regions and individual participating countries, and actively promote communication and connection between Belt and Road cooperation mechanisms and international organizations and mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Group of Twenty (G20), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the BRICS. 

Third, we should strengthen projects that benefit the people and help improve people’s livelihood in Latin America. We should focus on creating a number of exemplary projects that benefit the people so that Latin American countries can intuitively feel the dividends of development cooperation under an open and inclusive environment and the significant opportunities that Belt and Road joint construction presents for promoting the development of Latin America. Latin America’s infrastructure has major shortcomings both in quantity and quality, which have become constraints on regional development. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of weak digital infrastructure construction in Latin American countries became even more obvious. In recent years, China has achieved remarkable results in poverty alleviation. By jointly constructing the Belt and Road Initiative with Latin American countries, China can also contribute to reducing poverty, increasing employment, and improving the people’s livelihood in Latin American countries as well as promoting sustainable development in Latin America. We must truly build the Belt and Road Initiative into a path for the common development of China and Latin America and a path for the common prosperity of the peoples of China and Latin America. 

Fourth, we should strengthen international communication and tell the story of China in the new era well. We should enhance international communication capabilities, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Latin American media, explore new paths and methods to tell the story of China–Latin America cooperation, make full use of non-official communication platforms such as international media, enterprises, and non-governmental organizations in addition to official platforms, and strengthen international communication around the concept of the Belt and Road and its important achievements. On the one hand, we must tell the story of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America well, publicize more successful and vivid cases, enhance the Latin American people’s understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative, and enhance the international image of Belt and Road projects. For example, China State Grid Brazil Holding Company, which is responsible for the construction of the Belo Monte Phase II ultra-high voltage direct current transmission line project in Brazil, strictly abides by local laws and regulations in its work on the project, fulfills its environmental protection obligations and social responsibilities, and protects the environment, flora and fauna, and historical and cultural sites along the route. The project won Brazil’s most prestigious sustainable development award in 2019—the “Best Practices Award for Social and Environmental Management.” This event has done much to enhance the international image of Belt and Road projects. On the other hand, we should also tell the story of China in the new era by telling the story of the Belt and Road Initiative, presenting the story of development through Chinese–style modernization and the story of China–Latin America friendship based on mutually beneficial cooperation. 

IV. Conclusion 

On January 24, 2023, President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech to the 7th CELAC Summit. He stressed that China attaches great importance to developing relations with CELAC and regards CELAC as an important partner in strengthening the solidarity of developing countries and promoting South-South cooperation. “It is with this original intention that China, together with the countries of Latin America, has continuously strengthened the construction of the China–CELAC Forum and brought China–Latin America relations into a new era of equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefit to the people. More and more countries in the region are cooperating with China to promote the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, supporting and participating in the Global Development Initiative and Global Security initiatives, and working with China to build a China–Latin America community of common destiny.” There is no doubt that the Belt and Road is a bond that connects China and Latin America, although they are thousands of miles apart and separated by mountains and oceans. It is a road of friendship that promotes common development and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Latin America. Over the past few years, China and Latin America have made tangible progress in the areas of the “Five Connectivities” as they work to jointly construct the Belt and Road Initiative. Looking to the future, China and Latin America will work hand in hand to jointly write a new chapter in the story of high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.