MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China and Latinamerican growing links

The accumulated investment of Latinamerican companies in China reached 56.9 billion US dollars at the end of last year according to data released by the official news agency Xinhua in Beijing.

The money was invested in 17.956 projects in China and gives an idea of the growing trade and economic links with Latinamerica

During the last decade trade between Latinamerica and China has ballooned from a modest two billion US dollars in the early nineties to over 50 billion in 2005, points out Xinhua.

Chinese investment in Latinamerica has also boomed. In 2004, Latinamerica attracted 32% equivalent to 1.76 billion US dollars of China's total overseas investment of 5.5 billion US dollars.

Latinamerica is proving a reliable supplier of natural and energy resources which has attracted China's main industries, steel, metal and oil.

Xinhua points out that of the 21 Latinamerican countries with full diplomatic relations with Beijing, fifteen have special government to government trade agreements, with Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Panama ranking as the most important trade partners.