By Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein
As if by the whims of life and unplanned adjustments of history, at the very moment that Trump was threatening Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Marco Rubio was making clear his conviction that the Western Hemisphere belongs to Washington by bringing the Monroe Doctrine and its Trump corollary into vogue for the 21st century, the government of the People’s Republic of China was releasing the third document on its foreign policy towards the region.
In 2008, the Chinese government published the first China Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, outlining the objective of establishing a China-LAC Comprehensive Partnership of Cooperation based on equality, mutual benefit, and joint development. In 2014, the leaders of China and Latin America and the Caribbean met in Brasilia, where they jointly determined the future of China-LAC relations. This led to the creation in January 2015 of the China-CELAC Forum (CCF) as a multilateral cooperation mechanism comprised of 33 member states, serving as the main platform for promoting political dialogue, economic collaboration, and cultural exchanges between China and the countries of the region.
Under the auspices of the China-Latin America Cooperation Fund (CFC), more than one hundred initiatives have been implemented across diverse sectors, including agricultural production, scientific and technological innovation, poverty reduction, sustainable development, defense cooperation, anti-corruption efforts, and law enforcement. Furthermore, various platforms have been established, such as the China-Latin America Centers for Sustainable Food Innovation, Technology Transfer, and News Exchange, the China-Latin America Cooperation Fund, and the China-Latin America Special Infrastructure Loan. Additionally, various development financing options have been offered to Latin American and Caribbean nations.
In 2016, the Chinese government published the second China Policy Document on Latin America and the Caribbean, in which it stated that China would dedicate itself to building a new configuration of relations with LAC based on the “five in one” proposal, to take relations to a new level.
Now, as 2025 draws to a close, China-LAC relations have entered a new stage characterized by equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and the well-being of the people, setting a benchmark for South-South cooperation. China and LAC have become a community with a shared future, moving forward hand in hand, with equal treatment, mutual benefits, and shared gains. This is driven by strong momentum, openness and inclusiveness as a quality vision, and the well-being of the people as a fundamental purpose, resulting in a vigorous dynamic and broad prospects for development.
From China’s perspective, unprecedented changes unseen in the last hundred years, and evolving at an accelerating pace, have led to profound realignments in the international balance of power. The Global South, with its burgeoning strength, is playing an increasingly important role in the cause of human progress. However, the global economy lacks the driving force for growth, partial conflicts and turmoil arise frequently, and unilateral actions are undermining international peace and security. Human society is facing unprecedented challenges.
For its part, China has already completed the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society and achieved its centennial goal in 2020. It now aims to comprehensively promote the building of a great modern socialist country and revitalize the nation through the country’s modernization process.
As a developing country and member of the Global South, China shares a common vision and future with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and other members of the Global South. In recent years, President Xi Jinping has proposed a series of significant initiatives and measures to strengthen relations and cooperation between China and LAC in various fields, giving a new dimension—in keeping with our times—to Sino-Latin American and Caribbean ties.
In this context, the Chinese government, by making public the third Document on China’s Policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean, aims to summarize experiences for the future and comprehensively outline China’s policy towards LAC, in order to take relations and cooperation in various fields to a new level.
The third document, structured into five programs, covers almost all possible areas of international cooperation in the pursuit of mutual benefits for both parties. A brief overview of the programs and areas of cooperation shows that they are grouped as follows:
1. Solidarity Program
- Conduct high-level exchanges
- To generate mutual support on respective vital interests and fundamental concerns
- Create and deepen intergovernmental mechanisms for dialogue and consultation
- To facilitate exchanges between legislative bodies and political parties
- Implement the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) developed by China
- Promote reform of the global economic governance system
- Establish China-LAC cooperation mechanisms and tripartite cooperation
2. Development program
- Implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI)
- Jointly build the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative
- Establish cooperation in trade and investment, finance, taxation, energy and resources, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, space, maritime affairs, among chambers and institutions promoting trade and investment, market regulation, environmental protection, climate change response and natural disaster reduction
- scientific and technological innovation
- Establish joint mechanisms for customs inspection and quarantine
- Develop bilateral programs for Development Assistance
3. Program of civilizations
- Implement the Initiative for Global Civilization (IGC)
- To deepen exchanges and mutual learning between the civilizations of China and Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Create mechanisms for the education and training of human resources
- Develop joint programs for sports practice and development
- To exchange experiences and cooperate in matters of press, publishing, radio, film and television
- Promote academic exchange between research institutes and “think tanks”
4. Peace program
- Implement the Initiative for Global Security (ISG)
- To generate mechanisms for exchange and cooperation in military matters
- Cooperate in matters of law enforcement and justice, in the fight against corruption, and for the repatriation of fugitives and recovery of stolen funds
- Cooperate and generate support mechanisms in the area of cybersecurity
- Establish export control mechanisms to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
5. Peoples’ Program
- Establish cooperation in matters of governance and social development, poverty reduction, health, consular affairs and tourism.
- Generate mechanisms to produce greater exchange between peoples at the subnational level.
As has been made clear, China supports the LAC integration process, attaches great importance to the development of relations with CELAC, and is willing to work with LAC following the principles of respect, equality, plurality, mutual benefit, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, and non-conditionality, to proactively advance cooperation in various fields within the framework of the FCC.
Maintaining an action-oriented approach, fully utilizing mechanisms such as the Ministerial Meeting, the China-CELAC Quartet Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, and the FCC National Coordinators’ Meeting, properly utilizing the FCC Cyber Secretariat, continuously and properly organizing sub-forum activities in various areas, encouraging all sectors of society on both sides to actively participate in them, continuously improving the institutional building of the FCC, and holding the China-CELAC Summit with the participation of the leaders of China and CELAC when conditions are more favorable.
Given this evidence, the reader can draw their own conclusions regarding what the United States and China offer to Latin America and the Caribbean: facts vs. pipe dreams, construction vs. destruction, bilateral cooperation vs. threats. The decision to be made boils down to preparing for an independent and sovereign future, or returning to the dark past of domination and subjugation. The people have the final say.