Latin America eyes opportunities in Belt and Road Initiative
China's investment in Latin America and the Caribbean region is generating positive influence on local economic growth and the improvements in people's livelihoods.
A report on China's investment recently issued by the Latin American, Caribbean and China Academic Research Center in Mexico indicates that China's investment in the region has constantly increased from 2010 to 2016. According to the statistics, the accumulated Chinese investment from 2001 to 2016 in the region hit US$113.67 billion, which created about 254,000 jobs for locals.
China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner, and bilateral cooperation has expanded to the financial sector, while infrastructure construction is the area with the most growth potential in bilateral trade and cooperation, the report said.
Ecuador has built eight water power stations in recent years to solve electricity shortages at home, among which seven involve Chinese enterprises. Last year, the country can generate 90 percent of the electricity it needs by itself.
The power station managers and officials said that cooperation with China will turn Ecuador from a power importer to a power exporter in the future, and China's investment in the hydropower realm not only upgrades the country's energy structure, but also markedly improves people's livelihoods.
Although about 65 percent of China's investment goes to the oil and mineral projects in the region, the proportion has markedly dropped, and greater funding is invested in infrastructure, manufacturing industries and the service sectors.
Zhang Xin, general manager of the China Road and Bridge Corporation's branch in Ecuador, said that Chinese enterprises rely more on funding from the PPP model, or public and private partnership, and BOT model, or build-operate-transfer, in infrastructure projects.
Compared with the previous contract model, this represents a big transformation in the operation of Chinese enterprises overseas.
Moreover, Chinese investors are prioritizing further environmental protection, creating jobs and improving the public service infrastructure and facilities.
It is estimated that the Latin American countries need to invest about 5 percent of their GDP on infrastructure, but currently the share is only about 2 percent. This means there is great potential for Chinese capitalto help the region improve its infrastructure construction especially considering China's expertise in this field.
Alicia Bárcena, the United Nations executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, points out that China can provide the Latin American region more opportunities under the frame of the Belt and Road Initiative.
