Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos attend a symposium on China-Latin America cultural exchange in Bogota, Colombia, on May 22 (XINHUA)
Free trade benefits
Growth in bilateral trade has benefited from the 2005 free trade agreement reached between China and Chile, Li said.
Indeed, Chile was the first Latin American country to sign such an agreement with China with bilateral trade now extending from goods to service and finance.
A free trade agreement with China has also brought considerable benefits to Peru since a bilateral pact took effect in 2010. Trade volume between the pair reached $14.32 billion in 2014. By the end of that year, Chinese investment in Peru had totaled $14.24 billion. Peru is also home to the largest Chinese community in Latin America.
Reaching an agreement to conduct a feasibility study on a proposed transcontinental railway line was one major fruit borne by Premier Li's tour to Lima.
The proposed railway will connect Peru's Pacific coast with Brazil's Atlantic coast. In 2014, the project was discussed by the leaders of China, Brazil and Peru. Considering its potential in advancing economic development in locations lying along the railway line and in accelerating industrialization and urbanization in South America, the three countries have agreed to speed up efforts toward progressing in the project.
Premier Li stressed that the project will proceed under conditions pertaining to environmental protection and biological diversity at a press conference which took place after his talks with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on May 22.
China and Colombia have begun a feasibility study on a potential free trade agreement. Premier Li's visit to the country will accelerate the negotiation progress, said Qi Fengtian, a researcher at the Institute of Latin America of China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
It has been 30 year since a Chinese premier has stepped foot on Colombian soil. The Colombian Government troops and the guerrilla forces agreed on a cease-fire for 24 hours during Premier Li's visit, according to China's State Council website.
During a meeting with Premier Li in the nation's capital, Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he believed that cooperation with China will surely be conductive to aiding post-war reconstruction and the overall economic and social development of Colombia.
"Currently, a domestic peace agreement is expected to be reached between the government forces and the guerrillas, which will bring about more opportunities for cooperation between China and Colombia," Qi said.
In spite of domestic security challenges, Colombia still managed to secure nearly 5 percent GDP growth on average from 2010 to 2014. Trade between China and Colombia also fast increased within that same period.
Qi of the CASS said Colombia's economic growth in recent years can be attributed to two major factors. First, the Santos' administration took a series of economic incentives to encourage foreign investment in mining, infrastructure, agriculture and industry in addition to taking measures to improve the business environment in the country. Second, the security situation in Colombia has also improved with the government dedicating itself to promoting peace domestically.
