General

What are the opportunities and challenges for private enterprises to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean under the new situation?

Chilean cherries, Peruvian blueberries, Uruguayan beef, Ecuadorian roses... These delicious and fresh flowers from across the ocean are now common items in Chinese households, enriching our fruit baskets, vegetable baskets, and flower baskets, witnessing the increasingly prosperous international trade and economic exchanges between China and Latin America and the Caribbean region.

On May 24th, the China Latin America Private Economic Cooperation Forum was held in Dongguan, Guangdong. With the theme of "Hand in hand to create the future - opportunities and challenges for China Latin America private economic cooperation in the new situation", the forum was hosted by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the People's Government of Guangdong Province, and hosted by the Guangdong Federation of Industry and Commerce, the People's Government of Dongguan City, the All China New Energy Chamber of Commerce, and the All China Tourism Chamber of Commerce. A total of 200 envoys from Latin American and Caribbean countries to China, leaders of some government agencies, chambers of commerce, and chambers of commerce, representatives of relevant financial institutions and think tanks, as well as representatives of private enterprises from China and Latin America, attended the forum to discuss development plans.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the total trade volume between China and Latin America and the Caribbean reached a new high in 2022, reaching 485.79 billion US dollars, surpassing 450 billion US dollars for the second consecutive year, an increase of over 7% compared to 2021.

Chinese private enterprises are important participants in international trade and economic exchanges between China and Latin America. Entropy Technology Co., Ltd. is a typical private enterprise among them. Entropy Technology, founded in 2007, is an international enterprise with multimodal biometrics and computer vision as its core technologies. General Manager Jin Hairong introduced at the forum that as of now, Entropy Technology has invested in the construction of 10 subsidiaries and research and development centers in Mexico, Panama, Peru, Chile, Argentina and other regions in Latin America. In 2022, Entropy Technology achieved sales of nearly $50 million in Latin America, with a business growth rate of 50%.

Jin Hairong stated that the success of entropy based technology is mainly due to the full utilization of bilateral policies between China and Latin America; Fully utilize the language and market advantages of Latin America; Always monitor tax policies and exchange rate changes in Latin America.

More and more private enterprises are going global and contributing to this beautiful transcript. In the future, how can private enterprises take the road of "the Belt and Road" development? Pansy Ho, vice chairman of the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of Shun Tak Holdings, suggested that "going to sea" enterprises should not only focus on short-term interests, but also be committed to promoting the overall regional development of investment countries, so as to obtain long-term and sustainable benefits.

The biggest booster for private enterprises to go global is policies. Lv Yuyin, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, stated that as a forefront of China's reform and opening up, Guangdong, with the active participation of a large number of private enterprises, has continuously strengthened friendly exchanges and international trade and economic exchanges with Latin American and Caribbean countries in recent years, and has continuously deepened and developed cooperation in various aspects. Guangdong will take this forum as an opportunity to vigorously promote the spirit of Cantonese business in the new era, continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with Latin American and Caribbean countries, firmly promote high-level opening up to the outside world, high-quality development, solidly do a good job in the new era of "overseas Chinese" articles, treat all types of market entities equally, vigorously protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors, and create a market-oriented, legal, and international first-class business environment, Efforts will be made to promote private economic cooperation between China, Latin America, and Guangdong to a new level.

What are the opportunities and challenges for private enterprises to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean under the new situation? Zhang Zhenjiang, Dean of the School of International Relations of Jinan University and Director of the Latin American Research Center, pointed out at the forum that the current new opportunities for China Latin America cooperation lie in the in-depth development of political mutual trust between China and Latin America, the "the Belt and Road" initiative to promote China Latin America trade cooperation, the joint efforts of China and Latin America in combating the epidemic, the rise of new business forms driven by China Latin America international trade cooperation, and the rich resources and energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Zhang Zhenjiang also pointed out that international trade and economic cooperation between China and Latin America also faces a complex international situation, including the increasing diversification of the world economy, geopolitical tensions, and the profound impact of digital technology on the global economy.

For private enterprises, Zhang Zhenjiang suggests changing financing methods and achieving diversified investment and financing; Examining local needs and fully respecting differences; Establish a training mechanism to improve the quality of talents; The Chamber of Commerce can leverage its unique advantages to provide information services, promote industrial upgrading and innovation, and promote corporate brands. (Transferred from: People's Political Consultative Conference News)