China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong has met with Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo on Thursday in Beijing, during which the two sides had in-depth discussions on strengthening cooperation in the fields of industry and information technology, according to a post on the official WeChat account of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Thursday.
The meeting was held during Murillo's four-day visit to China starting from Wednesday. It also comes as China strengthens trade relations and economic cooperation with multiple Latin American countries. Observers said that the meeting underscored that Colombia attaches high importance to economic and technology cooperation with China, and it is likely that Murillo's visit could yield more cooperation agreements in emerging fields like new-energy vehicles (NEVs), green energy and artificial intelligence, in addition to traditional sectors.
During the meeting, Jin highlighted the vast potential for collaboration between China and Colombia in areas such as NEV, clean energy, information and communications, and mining.
He noted that the Chinese side is willing to work with Colombia to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, strengthen ties between companies, universities, research institutions as well as industry organizations from both sides, and facilitate practical cooperation to contribute to the development of the China-Colombia strategic partnership.
Murillo said the Colombian government highly values the strategic partnership between the two countries and is willing to strengthen policy alignment and technological exchanges with China in the fields of industry and information technology, according to the statement. He welcomed Chinese companies to invest and develop in Colombia to promote more practical outcomes in industrial cooperation.
China is driving the development of new quality productive forces, while Colombia's economic policies also heavily emphasize technology innovation. So there's substantial potential for South-South cooperation, especially in technology, Jiang Shixue, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Emerging technology sectors are where Colombia is in dire need of fueling economic growth, while China, on the other hand, has accumulated cutting-edge technology, rich experience as well as a cost advantage, Pan Deng, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Region Law Center of the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Thursday.
The desire to strengthen cooperation also shows that the developing countries, by leveraging individual countries' resource advantages, are looking to enhance their technology self-reliance through the South-South cooperation mechanism, Pan said, stressing that it will also play an exemplary role in leading to more Global South collaboration.
Observers expect the visit will yield more cooperation agreements in emerging fields like NEV, green energy and artificial intelligence (AI), where Colombia is in dire need of fueling economic growth while China, on the other hand, has accumulated cutting-edge technology and rich experience.
The two sides could also reach deals to pave the way for more Colombian agricultural products to be exported to China, observers said. In 2021, Colombian avocados were approved for export to China and have since become popular among Chinese consumers. Colombian beef has also been approved for export to China last year.
China and Colombia for years have enjoyed strong economic and trade complementarities, making them natural trade partners.
China is now Colombia's second-largest trading partner, and Colombia is China's fifth largest trading partner in Latin America. In 2022, bilateral trade volume expanded 13.4 percent year-on-year to $22.64 billion, according to Guangming Daily.
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