Products are displayed at the 14th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit in Chongqing, on Nov 16, 2021. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 14th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit kicked off in Chongqing on Tuesday with the theme "Openness and Innovation for Common Progress". It will run through Wednesday.

The event, as a sub-summit of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, was launched in 2007 as a platform for promoting economic, social and trade cooperation. It is sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Chongqing Municipal Government and People's Bank of China. Officials, business leaders and experts from various fields from China and LAC countries are attending.

Business representatives exchanged views and reached consensus on Tuesday regarding economics, trade, infrastructure, finance and other areas of cooperation between China and LAC regions in a new development paradigm.

A prospectus released at the event — the Chongqing Initiative by business communities of China and LAC Countries — was designed to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 and embrace openness, promote infrastructure connectivity and financial integration, vigorously engage in cooperation on innovation and fully support small and medium-sized enterprises.

China's trade with the Latin American regions reached $331.88 billion in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 45.5 percent year-on-year, said Gao Yan, chair of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"Latin America is also our second-largest investment destination, with more than 2,700 Chinese enterprises established in Latin America. It can be said that the economic and trade cooperation between China and LAC countries is creating a new route across the Pacific," she said.

Uruguay's Ambassador to China Fernando Lugris noted that the LAC and China have witnessed a steep increase in trade over the past 20 years. He said he is looking forward to promoting tourism, cultural exchanges and information technology after the pandemic.

Other activities, including a China-LAC think tank cooperation webinar and an infrastructure and financial cooperation forum, were also held during the summit.