Analyze the possibilities of increasing Chinese investment in Latin America
The ninth forum of investors between Latin America and China addressed today in Beijing the possibilities offered by the economy of Latin American countries to increase the already large Chinese investment in the region.
At the meeting -organized by the HSBC bank and the financial medium LatinFinance- the Minister of Agriculture of Panama, Eduardo Enrique Carles, participated, who highlighted the potentialities of his country as "logistic port of Latin America and the world".
Chinese investment in Panama, mainly focused on infrastructure, now reaches 2.5 billion dollars.
China will build a cruise port in the Pacific and one container in the province of Colon, in addition to the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal, with an investment of 1,500 million dollars.
Likewise, feasibility studies have been carried out for the railway that will link the city of David with the city of Panama, a project that still has to be tendered and that will involve an investment of 4,100 million dollars.
In statements to Efe, the minister stressed that it is expected that foreign investment in the country will increase by 6% in 2019, after having grown by 17% in 2018 compared to the previous year.
Carles explained that he has held meetings with customs officials in Beijing to finalize the protocols signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Panama on December 4.
Likewise, it has prepared with the Chinese authorities the fifth round of the free trade agreement between both countries that will take place in April, as well as the visit that Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela will make next weekend to the Chinese city of Canton. to inaugurate the new consulate of the Central American country in that locality in the south of the Asian country.
"It is a very important city for Panama due to its commercial exchange," he said.
The minister said that Panama intends to export seafood and beef products to China, as well as fruits.
"The important thing is to work under our country brand 'Panama exports' which aims to promote the culture of agro-export and then migrate towards a culture of re-export through our ports and our connectivity," he said.
Mexican Undersecretary for North America, Jesús Seade, also participated in the forum of investors, who highlighted to Efe the "very good" relationship between Mexico and the Asian giant.
"Mexico has a serious deficit with China, we love to import a lot of them but we would like to find a way to export more to China," he said.
And he considered that the most important sector of the relationship between both countries is investment, attracting Chinese companies, especially from the manufacturing sector, "to establish themselves in Mexico and from there export to the US and South America."
