2024-09-08 09:57:32
BEIJINGPeruvian President Dina Boluarte paid a state visit to China from June 25 to 29, participating with her Chinese counterpart in the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents in various fields.
Experts believe that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the relationship between China and Peru has achieved fruitful results and will continue to expand in the areas of cooperation and improve its efficiency and quality.
EXPANSION OF BILATERAL TRADE
During Boluarte’s visit to China, it was announced that negotiations for updating the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement had largely been concluded.
The negotiations, which began in late 2018, cover areas such as customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade in services, investment and e-commerce, among others.
“The FTA will be updated in accordance with the latest characteristics of China-Peru cooperation, effectively ensuring the improvement of efficiency and the reduction of costs for both parties,” according to Yue Yunxia, deputy director of the Institute of Latin American Studies, under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
She added that the inclusion of new topics such as competition policy, global supply chain and environment would better reflect emerging global rules in the field of trade and investment.
In fact, the China-Peru FTA, which officially came into force in 2010, has benefited a large number of companies over the years and has continued to improve the ease and openness of trade between the two countries.
According to official sources, China has remained Peru’s largest trading partner and export market for 10 consecutive years.
Benefiting from the FTA, several small and medium-sized companies from both countries have found development opportunities. “Warmpaca,” a brand that makes and sells Peruvian alpaca stuffed animals, is one of them.
The company’s founder Ma Yuxia told Xinhua that the tax-exemption policy covers all of the company’s products, and the customs clearance process has become smoother in recent years. The clearance time from the port to the warehouse has been reduced from five days to two.
Following the entry into force of the China-Peru FTA, agricultural products have become a bright spot for growth. Represented by blueberries, grapes and avocados, Peruvian agricultural products are increasingly popular among Chinese consumers.
According to official Peruvian data, in the 14 years under the FTA, Peru’s agro-industrial export trade to China has increased 18-fold.
Alejandro Sanhueza, director of blueberry sales and operational planning for Agrovision Peru, said in an interview with Peruvian media that China accounted for 35 to 40 percent of his company’s blueberry volume and said he was very interested in exploring China’s vast consumer market.
Oswaldo and Gloria, a married couple from Peru, make alpaca stuffed animals at the Warmpaca company’s booth during the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Sergio Gomez)
IMPROVING INVESTMENT QUALITY
During his visit to China, Boluarte appreciated China’s rapid development and scientific and technological progress, and expressed his willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, artificial intelligence and green energy.
“The Peruvian president reached cooperation intentions with several Chinese companies in new energy vehicles and communication technology. These areas are closely related to the well-being of Peruvian citizens, producing a positive impact on Peru’s economic development and improving people’s lives,” Yue Yunxia said.
According to Yue, the cooperation between the two countries has expanded from traditional fields to high and new technologies, and the level of cooperation has been constantly increasing.
Chen Taotao, director of the Latin American Center at Tsinghua University, noted that China is one of the main sources of investment in Peru. With the improvement of the international investment capacity of Chinese companies, more and more projects are taking Peru as a destination, which also creates favorable conditions for strengthening cooperation in advanced technologies in the future.
The port of Chancay, which is managed and invested by a Chinese company, is expected to be ready for trial operation in October this year, becoming a new logistics hub connecting Latin America with Asia.
The direct maritime route from Chancay to Shanghai is a focus of attention for Chinese and Peruvian companies.
“Currently, there are no direct bulk shipments between Peru and Shanghai, and the opening of the new port is expected to reduce the transportation time of our products by almost half, and the cost by 20 to 30 percent,” Ma Yuxia said.
This year, a series of projects under the framework of the China-Peru joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative have made important progress, including the highway tunnel to Machu Picchu and energy cooperation, providing services for the Peruvian people and promoting local economic and social development.
China-invested and domestically built landmark infrastructure projects, led by the Chancay port, can improve Peru’s regional connectivity, increase logistics efficiency in Latin America, create a large number of local jobs and achieve the effect of boosting economic growth, Yue said.
This photo taken on June 27, 2024 shows the city of Arequipa at the foot of the Misti Volcano in Peru. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
INCREASING EFFICIENCY THROUGH EXCHANGE MECHANISM
During Boluarte’s visit to China, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a strategic dialogue mechanism for economic cooperation and a series of cooperation documents to further ensure the efficiency of bilateral cooperation.
Chen Taotao pointed out that due to the geographical distance between China and Peru, the differences in systems and cultures are obvious, so communication is the prerequisite for cooperation.
“The dialogue mechanism can build a platform for the two countries to understand each other’s development needs, deepen their understanding and trust, explore more potential areas of cooperation, and jointly deliberate a reasonable and efficient dispute resolution mechanism on the basis of mutual trust,” Chen said.
The two countries have reached several consensuses on cooperation. In 2019, China and Peru signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2023, the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership was celebrated.
“Only through joint deliberation and construction can we share experiences and successes,” Chen said, noting that this state visit will help China and Peru build a more effective and friendly platform for investment and business.
China and Peru are important countries and emerging markets in the Pacific Rim, as well as important members of the Global South. During his visit to China, Boluarte expressed the hope that Peru’s relationship with China can serve as a model for other Latin American nations cooperating with China.
This year, Peru will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit. Yue noted that China and Peru support cooperation within the APEC framework, sharing consensus on multilateralism, which is conducive to accelerating regional economic integration and building an open world economy.