Exclusive: Chinese ambassador warns trade tensions may hurt Latin America

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06:24

China’s ambassador to Chile, Xu Bu, said in an interview with CGTN that the trade tension between China and the US has the potential to hurt Latin American economies.

Xu, who arrived in Chile earlier this year, said Latin American countries need multilateral trade, investment and cooperation to develop their economies.

Chile was the first country in Latin America to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1970 and bilateral ties have developed rapidly since then, said the ambassador.

"The two countries have benefited a lot from this very close relationship. China has been the largest trading partner for Chile for the last five consecutive years,” said Xu.

China’s ambassador to Chile, Xu Bu, in an interview with CGTN reporter Joel Richards in Santiago, Chile /CGTN Photo

"The total trade volume between China and Chile exceeded 34 billion US dollars last year, and remember, the total trade volume between the US and Chile last year was about 22 billion US dollars," he noted.

Why are cultural ties between the two countries so important?

"We believe the culture part of the relationship is really the key for a sustainable relationship between countries. Only better mutual understanding between the people can really make their overall relationship sustainable," Xu explained.

"It is true that language is on one hand, a bridge for mutual understanding, and on the other hand, it is an obstacle to understanding each other. That is why the two sides, we believe, need to pay more attention to language studying and teaching for each other,” Xu elaborated.

XInhua Photo

Latin-American countries support Belt and Road

“There is a lot of enthusiasm and support from Latin American countries for Belt and Road. One of the reasons I believe is because this Belt and Road Initiative is really something for joint cooperation, common benefit and for the economic development for all the countries concerned," said Xu.

"The Latin American countries are in a period of development where they need a lot of investment, they do need a lot of trade, they do need a lot of cooperation from other countries, and we believe China is providing this kind of opportunity," he added.