Alicia Bárcena says that cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean provides an opportunity to reduce global asymmetries

Photo: Alicia Bárcena. By: Academia Diplomática de Chile Source: Flickr

At the closing ceremony of the II High Level Academic Forum CELAC-China and the VI Forum of China-Latin America and the Caribbean Think Tanks, Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) asserted that cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean offers an opportunity to reduce global asymmetries and support an inclusive transformative economic recovery that promotes sustainable development in line with the 2030 Agenda. 

The ECLAC Executive Secretary stressed that China has a long-term outlook and a clear vision of its horizons and goals. She emphasized that China has managed to advance in technological innovation and overcome poverty very quickly and effectively. “This is why we believe that it is very important to study and understand the Belt and Road Initiative in depth and evaluate the participation of the region’s countries —beyond the 19 countries that have already joined it— whatever each of these decides to advance in; whether it be digital, air, or maritime connectivity or in health or cultural aspects”, said Bércena. She also noted that the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated global asymmetries between developed and developing countries. This forces us to rethink multilateralism and, in this context, cooperation between China and ECLAC, to provide collective responses to the combined effects of the pandemic, climate change, and growing inequalities in terms of income, wealth, the digital economy, and access to financing.

Lead story:

CEPAL.ORG. (2021). La cooperación entre China y América Latina y el Caribe ofrece una oportunidad para reducir las asimetrías globales y apoyar una recuperación económica transformadora.