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According to China's Ministry of Commerce, China's trade volume in 2008 with the Latin American and Caribbean regions continued to maintain relatively rapid growth. However, affected by the financial crisis, the growth rate was lower than that of 2007.
Statistics from China's General Administration of Customs show that China's trade volume with the region in 2008 amounted to 143.4 billion USD, up 39.8 percent year-on-year, lower than the 46.1 percent growth rate in 2007. However, the 2008 growth rate was still higher than the 17.8 percent growth rate that China registered in overall foreign trade during the same period.
Chinese exports to that region were 71.47 billion USD and imports were 71.9 billion USD, basically maintaining a balance of imports and exports. Exports and imports rose 38.8 percent and 40.8 percent year-on-year respectively, lower than the 42.9 percent and 49.4 percent recorded in 2007.
Of China's exports to the Latin American region, mechanical and electrical products accounted for around 50%. High and new technology products, as well as light industrial and textile products, still made up a large proportion. China's imports from Latin America were mainly mineral products, farm produce and other basic raw material products.
In 2008, the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement was smoothly implemented and both sides signed the Supplementary Agreement on Services to the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement. The two sides have already held the first round of investment talks.
Negotiations on a free trade agreement between China and Peru were concluded and both sides will formally sign the agreement at a designated time. China has completed a joint feasibility study with Costa Rica on forming a free trade agreement between the two nations. The first round of the China-Costa Rica free trade agreement talks has already been concluded.
The number of nations in these regions that had bilateral trade volumes with China surpassing 10 billion USD rose from three in 2007 to four in 2008: Brazil (48.5 billion USD), Mexico (17.56 billion USD), Chile (17.5 billion USD) and Argentina (14.4 billion USD, it was the first time it had broken the 10 billion USD mark).
China's top five export markets in Latin America were Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Chile and Argentina. China's top five suppliers of imported commodities in Latin America were Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru.
In 2008, the Latin American region invested in 1,337 projects in China. The amount of contracted foreign investment was 14.2 billion USD, but the actual amount of investment reached 20.9 billion USD. By the end of December 2008, the Latin American region had invested in 24,976 projects in China. The amount of contracted foreign investment was 208.7 billion USD, but the actual amount of investment reached 112.6 billion USD.
Countries and regions that have large investments in China include the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Barbados, the Bahamas, Panama and Brazil.
In 2008, China's non-financial outward direct investment in the Latin American region reached 3.1 billion USD. As of 2008, China's cumulative outward direct investment in Latin America has been around 24.77 billion USD, mainly involving fields including trade, engineering contracting projects, production and manufacturing, and exploration and investment of oil, gas and mineral resources.
In 2008, China signed 487 new contracts for labor service contracting and design consultancy in Latin America, with a total volume of 3.65 billion USD. Of this, the amount of completed turnover reached 3 billion USD. As of the end of 2008, the total amount of contracts involving labor service contracting and design consultancy that China had signed in Latin America was 16.8 billion USD, and of this, an amount of 12.6 billion USD had been completed.
Source: People's Daily Online
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