SELA and China coordinate efforts for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean

The Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Clarems Endara, received the visit of the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Venezuela, Li Baorong, to strengthen cooperation ties for the strengthening and development of the region

Ambassador Li Baorong expressed his recognition to the work of SELA and his willingness to support projects that promote economic and social development in Latin American countries.

The Permanent Secretary of SELA described the organisation's multi-year Work Programme and the projects related to the Network of Digital and Collaborative Ports, digitalisation and the digital divide. He stressed that there is a broad experience in China's port policy that could be exchanged as best practices with the ports of the region, in order to create greater capacity and efficiency.

For his part, the Ambassador of China in Venezuela showed his interest in projects focused on poverty reduction and attention to social needs in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in the digitalisation of ports and strengthening of commercial infrastructure in the region, for which China is an important partner.

China is the region's second largest trading partner, and trade between the two parties reached US$ 451,591 million in 2021, an increase of 41.1% compared to the previous year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China.