China's emergence as a major world economic power has involved an extension of reach covering even the most distant regions of the world. Obviously, China's closest economic links are within her own Asia-Pacific region; but, although South America lies at the diametrically opposite end of the world from China, the region has always been - and remains - of interest, and appears regularly in the travel plans of China's leaders.

This week President Xi will embark on a three-nation Latin American tour, visiting Ecuador, Peru and Chile. It is typical of China's thorough approach to building a comprehensive network of strategic partnerships that President Xi is not focusing only on the major players in the region, such as Brazil and Argentina - although those relationships remain extremely important - but on the smaller countries as well, particularly those near South America's Pacific coast. It will be Xi's third trip to the region as President.

Ecuador, which has never before been visited by a Chinese head of state, established a strategic partnership with China last year. China is now Ecuador's third largest trading partner, with 19 percent of Ecuadorian imports coming from China. But that is only a small part of the picture, with China chiefly being looked to as a source of direct investment. The principal sectors of interest for Chinese investment are energy, power generation and mining. As well as examining the practical scope of further cooperation in these key areas, new agreements will be signed in the areas of production capacity, trade, finance, legal affairs and culture.

Mining also plays a major role in China's long-standing relations with Peru. Peru is home to the largest concentration of ethnic Chinese on the continent, with up to 10 percent of Peruvians claiming, at least partly, Chinese descent. And, as soon as the Peruvian government opened up the mining industry to outside investors some 25 years ago, Chinese mining companies were among the first on the scene. A free trade agreement (FTA) was signed between the two nations in 2009, and practical cooperation has grown steadily since.

While in Lima, the Chinese President will also attend an informal APEC leaders meeting. This will mark the 25th year of China's participation in this organization, which is highly valued by China as an important element in the network of multilateral fora. Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said that this meeting will focus on promoting openness and inclusiveness as well as on the infrastructural requirements that enable developing countries to play a full role in regional trade relations.

For the third stage of his tour, President Xi will visit Chile. As with Peru, China is already Chile's largest trading partner, and the two countries also have a long-standing free trade agreement which will be reviewed and upgraded where necessary. As well as straightforward economic and commercial issues, Xi will deal also with cultural matters; he will address a summit meeting of leading figures from the Chinese and Latin American media.

South America may appear far away from China's most prominent global initiative, the Belt and Road project; but in fact this initiative shows how the concept can be extended and replicated all over the world. APEC cooperation already provides a structure for trade over a very widespread region: though China and the countries President Xi will be visiting are all Pacific Rim nations, they are separated by some 15,000 kilometers. The key is a stable trading and financial infrastructure, and this has become something of a Chinese specialty over the last few decades.

Consistently maintained, China's program of global outreach will bring about a more comprehensively networked world, with no region left behind. History has shown that if countries and regions are left behind in the march of the global economy, dangerous instabilities can result. China's current diplomatic outreach program is thus a vital guarantor not only of global prosperity, but also of global security.

Tim Collard is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/timcollard.htm

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