Over 300 Chinese and Panamanian business leaders from banking, infrastructure, energy, logistics and agriculture and other sectors gathered for a forum in Beijing on Saturday to exchange ideas and explore practical cooperation opportunities.

The event, co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Panama Trade and Investment Agency and Panama's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, took place one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela met and signed 19 memorandums of understanding, including one feasibility study for a free trade agreement.

President Varela attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech encouraging Chinese businesses to take advantage of Panama’s privileged geographical position in the Americas in expanding its cooperation with Latin American countries.

According to China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua, despite a new diplomatic relationship, China and Panama have long-standing commercial ties. 

China is currently Panama’s second largest trade partner and Panama is China’s largest partner in Central America. Bilateral trade reached 6.4 billion US dollars in 2016 and 5 billion US dollars in the first 9 months of this year. China is also the second-biggest user of the Panama Canal, after the United States, and the top supplier of goods to Panama's Colon Free Trade Zone, located at the Atlantic gateway to the Panama Canal.

Yu added that there is a growing interest among Chinese enterprises to invest in Panama. Till the end of 2016 the stock of foreign direct investment in Panama by China reached 270 million US dollars, the major areas of investment being maritime transport, trade, telecommunications and finance. There has also been an effective cooperation in infrastructure and educational training programs.

Speaking of Panama’s draw for Chinese investors, Panamanian’s Trade and Industry Minister Augusto Arosemena said Panama’s advanced aviation, maritime and Internet connectivity as well as a stable domestic environment marked by a diversified economy and a sound legal system will serve foreign business well and provide them access to a broader market in the region. He wishes there will be more Chinese investment in energy, tourism as well as high-tech manufacturing.

Huawei Technology, which has been operating in Panama for a decade and set up a regional headquarter there, said the Panamanian government had provided favorable policies in visa and taxation and financing for multinationals, and Huawei’s supply chain center in Panama’s Colon Free Trade Zone has shortened the delivery time of their products to Latin America and boosted its global competitiveness in the region.

Delegates from both the two governments and private sectors have expressed hopes for more synergy in the years to come.