94Ha Viewpoint
In recent years, China’s economic and trade cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries has continued to expand, and has achieved a series of fruitful results. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Latin America reached US$518.47 billion, a record high, an increase of 6.0% year-on-year.
In recent years, China’s economic and trade cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries has continued to expand, and a series of fruitful results have been achieved.
Bilateral trade continues to grow. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Latin America reached US$518.47 billion, a record high, up 6.0% year-on-year. From January to March 2025, the total trade volume between China and Latin America was US$118.3 billion, of which China’s exports were US$65.73 billion and China’s imports were US$52.58 billion.
Mutual investment continues to expand. In 2024, China’s direct investment flow to Latin America was US$14.71 billion. From January to March 2025, China’s direct investment in Latin America in all industries was US$270 million. As of March 2025, Latin American countries have invested in and established 37,000 enterprises in China.
Contracting projects continue to increase. Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico are the main markets for Chinese companies to carry out contracting engineering business. By the end of 2024, China has signed a total of US$300.61 billion worth of contracting projects in Latin America, with a turnover of US$190.78 billion. From January to March 2025, China signed new contracting projects worth US$14.68 billion, with a turnover of US$5.99 billion.
The construction of the free trade pilot zone has yielded fruitful results. In January and May 2024, the China-Nigerian (Caragua) and China-Ecuador (Cuador) free trade agreements officially came into effect respectively. The protocol to upgrade the free trade agreement between China and Chile and the free trade agreement with Costa Rica are being implemented well, and the negotiations to upgrade the free trade agreement with Peru have been substantially completed.
