On the outskirts of Guangzhou lies the city of Foshan, known for being the capital and home of Chinese kung fu. But over the decades of reform and opening-up, the city has merged with other parts of Guangdong Province, inviting both domestic and global supply chains into its realm.

For ZONAMERICA, a business hub originating from Uruguay founded on a free-trade zone model, Foshan continues to be the place to be for entering China’s vast market. Headed by Javier Bahut Vega, the platform has brought in some 30 companies over the past 18 months, with a vision to further expand and develop across south China.

“So it was decided that they still want to come to this country and look for opportunities, but the model was going to be that we’re going to be a business hub, and we’re going to try and help companies from Latin America do business in China, and to also help Chinese companies come to Latin America,” says Vega.

The company’s overarching objective is simple – to stimulate economic activity between China and Latin America through sharing resources and knowledge. Providing a range of services such as e-commerce consulting, import & export management, and even supplier matching alongside quality control, is also a backbone of the company’s main operations.

ZONAMERICA, be it by chance or by careful positioning, also finds itself in a rather favorable position.

China and Latin America have witnessed substantial trade growth over the years. From 2002 to 2018, total trade between the two sides climbed from a mere 17 billion U.S. dollars to just over 300 billion U.S. dollars. China has also become the top trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, with a diverse range of goods crossing borders. Adding security and stability to these growing trade ties, are a series of strategic partnership agreements between Beijing and countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico.

“What we see is that the relationship is truly friendly and that it’s getting better and better. We see a lot of exchanges, not only economic but also cultural, and all kind of different areas including sport. So I think the relation is based on mutual trust, and is just developing in a good way, and this is definitely helping the economies in the two regions,” says Vega when speaking on bilateral ties.

But for the Uruguayan businessman that’s been in China for well over a decade, it’s no longer just about coming to China with the hopes of cashing in big on the world’s second largest economy. It’s now seeing how China can continue to go outward as far as the markets of South America.

“I think there’s definitely more and more trade between the two regions, so if you look at the numbers, the trend is clear. And I also think it’s interesting that the trend is developing in a way that you see more Chinese investment coming into Latin America. But I also see a trend of value added products coming into the Chinese market,” add Vega.

Albeit the current economic trade war between China and the United States, experts see emerging markets like South America having no issue when it comes to doing business with China.

For Dr. Liu Chunsheng from the Central University of Finance and Economics, the two regions can greatly complement each other.

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“The Chinese market is not only attractive to Latin American countries, but also to the entire world. China’s population base has market potential because of demand. Therefore it can stimulate consumption on a large scale. This in turn provides Latin American companies with a lot of investment opportunities on a wide scale, even in terms of trade. Latin America has many favorable conditions to attract enterprises as well.”

But for Vega, bringing in 30 companies in 18 months isn’t enough. He hopes within the next year, that number will hit 100. It’s a goal some may call unreasonable, but in reality, it’s one that’s definitely plausible when you’re established in such a vibrant locale.