At the press conference on March 8, Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China’s proposition on cooperation between Beijing and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in response to a question.

Wang Yi noted that old scripts from the 19th century shouldn’t be acted out on the international stage of the 21st century. The resources of Latin America and the Caribbean belong to the people there; the path of LAC countries should be chosen by their people, and the choice of friends is a decision for LAC countries alone.

Wang Yi pointed out that China-LAC cooperation is about mutual help and support between Global South countries. Looking back, China-LAC relations grew significantly in the past 50-plus years. The key lies in the fact that China always respects the Latin American people and commits to equal treatment and mutual benefit with LAC countries. “We never engage in geopolitical schemes, nor interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, nor ask others to pick sides.”

At last year’s Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, we jointly launched five programmes for solidarity, development, civilisation, peace, and people-to-people bonds, drawing a blueprint for China and LAC countries’ joint march toward modernisation.

Wang Yi stressed that cooperation between China and LAC countries does not target any third party and should not be subject to interference by any third party.

“We have great confidence in the future of China-LAC relations. No matter how the situation evolves, China stands ready to work with LAC countries toward building a China-LAC community with a shared future and spreading the benefits of our comprehensive cooperative partnership to more people on both sides,” he said.