Economic Watch: Trade booms, investment accelerates as China, Latin America deepen ties

NANJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- In the early hours of last Saturday morning, the international express parcel supervision center at Wuxi Shuofang Airport in east China's Jiangsu Province buzzed with activity, with customs officers swiftly clearing parcels bound for Mexico.

The cargo plane carrying these cross-border e-commerce parcels, packed with apparel and small furnishings, was the 164th trans-Pacific flight since the route's launch in April last year. Over the past 12 months, the service has delivered Chinese goods worth around 2 billion yuan (about 278.1 million U.S. dollars) to Latin America.

The route epitomizes the deepening economic ties between China and Latin America. Surging demand for Chinese products is fueling a boom in cross-border e-commerce, which is now a new driver of foreign trade.

"The route offers three flights weekly and goods can arrive in Latin America within two days. It has established an 'air bridge' connecting Jiangsu to Latin America," said Wang Weihua, a Wuxi Customs official.

China and Latin America are highly complementary in economy. China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner and the top trading partner for countries like Chile, Brazil and Peru.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the bilateral trade hit a record high of 518.47 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, surpassing China's 10-year target of 500 billion U.S. dollars that was set a decade ago.

However, trade is only part of the story, with direct investment also growing as industrial collaboration booms.

In 2024, China's direct investment in Latin America reached 14.71 billion U.S. dollars, while Latin American companies had established 37,000 enterprises in China as of March this year, according to the ministry. China and Latin America have strengthened industrial cooperation in sectors like high-end manufacturing and the green economy.

A prime example of industrial collaboration is the XCMG Brazil Industrial Park in the city of Pouso Alegre in Brazil, where rows of yellow engineering machinery vehicles stand out against the backdrop of the tropical rainforest.

As China's first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone for engineering machinery, the park produces over 10,000 units of machinery annually and serves as a core supplier to global mining giant Vale.

"In recent years, we have invested heavily in R&D for new energy and smart equipment to meet local demand for green mining transformation," said Gu Chong, chief culture officer of XCMG Brazil Industrial Park.

A leading Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer, XCMG established its wholly-owned Brazilian production base in Pouso Alegre in 2014, expanding it into an industrial park later in 2019.

"By strengthening localization, XCMG Brazil is accelerating green transformation and digital innovation to build high-value-added supply chains tailored to local demand," said Gu.

He added that XCMG is forging an integrated industrial ecosystem spanning R&D, manufacturing, service and finance, aiming to deepen cooperation with the whole Latin America region with Brazil serving as the regional hub.

While Chinese firms go global, Latin American companies are also deepening their presence in China.

At the production facility of WEG (Jiangsu) Electric Equipment Co., Ltd., robotic arms deftly assemble motor equipment with precision on automated assembly lines, blending Chinese automation with Brazilian engineering.

The products will soon be transported to Europe and Oceania. "We invested over 2 million yuan in this robotic line, boosting per-worker productivity by about 40 percent," said Zhang Pengfei, an engineer at WEG Jiangsu.

WEG Jiangsu, as a key China-based subsidiary of Brazilian company WEG, has rapidly expanded since its establishment in 2014.

"Our factory's production capacity doubles every five years, making China a core of WEG's global supply chain," said Zong Xin, general manager of WEG Jiangsu, adding that WEG's development in China has far exceeded expectations, with a total of six factories and about 3,000 employees.

Zong highlighted that amid global economic volatility, China's stable market environment and healthy competition environment can help Latin American firms mitigate risks and strengthen innovation.

"China offers consistent policies, a skilled workforce, robust industrial chains and well-developed infrastructure," he said, noting that WEG plans to invest an additional 1 billion yuan in new facilities to meet booming Chinese demand.

"China will remain a pivotal hub for WEG's production expansion, innovation and global competitiveness," Zong added. Enditem