China-CELAC Solidarity Stays Strong

By Zhou Zhiwei

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States （CELAC） was born out of the efforts of member countries to pursue independence and seek strength in unity. The group has played an important part in maintaining peace and stability and promoting common development in the region.

The Sixth CELAC Summit took place in Mexico on September 18， following a fouryear hiatus. At the invitation of host country Mexico， Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the event virtually， expressing Chinas support for integration across the region as well as Chinas willingness to enhance bilateral cooperation on all fronts.

However， regional integration efforts have hit the rocks in the past four years due to political disparity across governments and external influences， with the vitality of both CELAC and the South American Community of Nations weakened. As a result， countries failed to col- lectively respond to the economic and political challenges at hand as well as the COVID-19 outbreak. With the role of the regional governance mechanism dropping to its lowest point in nearly 30 years， CELAC countries participation in global governance dialogue and coordination， too， crippled.

They now have to bear multiple burdens， including stabilizing the regional political landscape， designing an effective COVID-19 response， and ensuring economic recovery. Against this backdrop， shaping an open， inclu-sive international environment for cooperation is crucial to them. This might in turn prompt these nations to strengthen unity to up overall regional power， enhancing the cross-regional policy dialogue and increasing their participation in multilateral governance.

New opportunities

Since the First Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum in 2015， two joint plans of action for bilateral cooperation have been adopted， in 2015 and 2018 respectively， clarifying specific programs and objectives for short and medium terms. Meanwhile， various dialogue mechanisms have come into being， covering infrastructure construction， business cooperation， investment facilitation， sci-tech innovation， agricultural development and cultural exchanges. They have helped promote the sustainability and predictability of bilateral synergy in multiple areas.

Furthermore， CELAC countries have also presented a strong interest in the Belt and Road Initiative. For example， Panama became the first CELAC country to sign a cooperative memorandum of understanding with China under its framework in November 2017， mere months after the founding of bilateral diplomatic relations in June of that year.