May 10th, the organizing committee of the International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum held a press conference in Beijing, announcing that the 15th International Infrastructure Forum will be held in Macau from June 19th to 21st, concurrently with the 10th China-LAC Infrastructure Cooperation Forum organized by the Ministry of Commerce of China.
The China-LAC Infrastructure Cooperation Forum is the only annual sub-forum held under the framework of the China-Latin America Forum. It has become an important international platform for China-Latin America to share experiences and expand cooperation in the field of infrastructure, providing impetus for high-quality cooperation in infrastructure between China and Latin America.
During this forum, both China and Latin America will review the progress and achievements of their cooperation in the infrastructure field over the past decade, and look forward to the opportunities and development directions for a "new decade" of mutually beneficial cooperation in infrastructure construction.
Currently, the value of new contracts and completed turnover for engineering projects contracted by Chinese companies in Latin America continues to grow. Both parties need to maintain this momentum, while also recognizing the impact of factors such as weakening regional economic growth momentum and insufficient investment in infrastructure on China-Latin America infrastructure cooperation. Therefore, this forum will actively explore the transformation and upgrading of cooperation in the infrastructure field between the two sides, including transitioning from traditional EPC models to BOT and PPP models, actively exploring tripartite cooperation, promoting the coordinated development of traditional and new infrastructure construction, and assisting in raising the level of infrastructure construction in Latin America to create conditions for sustained economic and social development.
This forum will focus on the pulse of development, discussing the widespread application of smart and green technologies in infrastructure cooperation, promoting the construction of green infrastructure and the interconnection of digital infrastructure, and developing new quality productivity. Latin American countries are welcome to actively introduce their own initiatives in green, digital, low-carbon, and intelligent infrastructure construction, and encourage China and Latin America to explore new ideas and models for high-quality cooperation.
From a trade perspective, China continues to maintain its position as the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the largest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. In 2023, the trade volume between China and Latin America reached a historic high of USD 489 billion. In the first two months of this year, bilateral trade between China and Latin America achieved another excellent performance, with a year-on-year increase of nearly 14%.
Overall, countries in Latin America are optimistic about China's open economic policies and huge market potential. In recent years, they have actively participated in the China International Import Expo, promoting the diversified development of exports to China and actively optimizing bilateral trade structures.