"If we look at the map of the Americas, we can look at the great weather"

On November 22, 2016, on the occasion of his state visit to the Republic of Chile, General Secretary Xi Jinping published a signed article entitled "Jointly Creating a Better Future for China-Chilean Relations" in the Chilean courier newspaper. The article recounts the friendship between the chinese and Chilean peoples and expresses the beautiful expectations for the development of China-Chile relations. General Secretary Xi Jinping quoted the great Chilean poet Neruda in the article as saying - "If we look at the map of the Americas, face up to the great weather", in order to express firm confidence in the Latin American region to overcome challenges and achieve development.

Neruda, whose original name was Neftalli Ricardo Reyes Baso Alto, was born in the small town of Temuco in southern Chile. From an early age, he was deeply immersed in the unique human and natural environment of Latin America, and was full of sympathy for the suffering people and indigenous peoples around him. As an adult, he worked in the diplomatic service for a long time and was persecuted and exiled several times. In the process of deepening his understanding of the world, he moved closer to socialist ideas, became a member of the Chilean Communist Party, and was proud to be a "poet of the people". His poems are diverse in style, with many pure and long poems praising nature and chanting love, and many works that are sonorous responses to the political turmoil of the 20th century. He denounced fascism, which was once fierce, and also vigorously supported the anti-fascist struggle in Spain, the Soviet Union and other countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping also mentioned Neruda's love affair with China: he visited China three times, and he was inspired by the achievements of new China and gave him a long poem "Song of the Land of China", which also contributed a lot to the construction of China and Chile.

General Secretary Xi Jinping quoted a sentence from Neruda's passionate Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech. Neruda used this to praise the magnificence of the Americas, and said that only by recognizing this could he understand why "many writers rejected the shameful and predatory past that God had arranged for the people of the Americas to be in league with the gods of darkness." Neruda's famous quote, which has been the home of the Latin American people for centuries, points out the promising brilliant prospects for the suffering people, and his laurels for the Nobel Prize in Literature once immersed the politically polarized Chile of the time in a common joy. Neruda's famous quote implies a sense of responsibility and concern for Latin America, which is also a fixed theme in the speeches of many future Nobel Laureates from Latin America. Even decades later, the Inter-American Development Bank will begin with this quote when looking back at the economic development of Latin America, which is currently being revived by Latin American intellectuals during the pandemic to remind the Latin American community of the moral burden of the crisis.

As Neruda puts it, the Latin America and the Caribbean in which he grew up possessed "a thousand weather conditions." From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego, it has a vast territory, abundant products and great potential for development. Before the arrival of the colonizers, the continent had given birth to brilliant and unique civilizations such as the Maya, incas, and Aztecs, and then the fusion of Europeans, Africans, native Indians, and other immigrants gave birth to a new wonderful and open culture. Unfortunately, however, her enormous potential has never been realized in reality. The ancient Indian state was destroyed by the deception and violence of the colonists, and after breaking free from the shackles of the colonial empire, many new Latin American and Caribbean countries have not really changed their political and economic marginal and dependent positions, and the distorted internal social structure and the intervention of the arbitrary foreign powers have always shackled the people's repressed talents.

Neruda's famous words reflect the salvation of people of insight in Latin America in the face of historical tragedies and practical regrets, and the sense of responsibility in the face of development opportunities and moral questions, which is exactly the same as the feelings of the Chinese people. The outstanding sons and daughters of Latin America are not willing to sink into the great continent, firmly believe that she deserves a brighter future, and is willing to fight for it. National heroes such as Tupaj Amaru II, Bolívar, and Juárez fought bloody battles on the Land of Latin America, academic masters such as Mariatjee, Prevish, and Dos Santos sought their best in the ideological circles, while Left-wing fighters such as Castro and Che Guevara put into practice Neruda's desire to save Latin America with socialism. Undoubtedly, the Chinese nation, which has experienced hardships in modern times and is now on the road to great rejuvenation, is very familiar with such emotions and ideals. Pushing themselves and others, Chinese people sincerely sympathize with the Latin American people's sorrow for historical suffering and deeply understand the Latin American people's yearning for a better life. In addition, Neruda's use of maps to inspire Latin American heroes is also very much in line with traditional Chinese culture. The wind and clouds, the heart of the Han Ancestors forever guarded; the vicissitudes of the sea and the flood waves, the aspiration of the King of Wei to unify Kyushu. Jinling ascended, Wang Anshi saw Chengjiang Cuifeng, and sighed the sorrow and hatred of the Six Dynasties; Chibi visited the ancients, Su Dongpo watched the chaotic stones and shocked the waves, and Simu Sanfen Haojie. Like Neruda's famous sentence, the magnificent mountains and rivers are also the starting point for heroes to look far away and the literati to remember in Chinese poetry.

Developing countries are the continent's natural allies in international affairs, while Latin America and the Caribbean are an important part of emerging economies and developing countries. Overall, China and Latin America have similar positions and are linked in heart. Neruda's famous words are full of hatred for colonialism and imperialism and the desire for autonomy and development, which is also the deep spiritual and emotional basis for mutual exchanges between China and Latin America. In fact, China and Latin America do share a lot of common language in safeguarding world peace, advocating multilateralism, promoting the reform of the international economic order, and promoting cooperation on climate issues. Therefore, the development of China-Latin America relations has also been rapid and smooth, and in recent years it has been changing with each passing day. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba in 1960 and the opening of formal exchanges between China and Latin America, there are now 24 countries that have established diplomatic relations between China in Latin America and the Caribbean, including comrades and old friends like Cuba who have endured ups and downs, incommendents such as Panama, Dominica, and El Salvador, and important comprehensive strategic partners such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. As of June 2021, 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with China, injecting new energy into the construction of the Belt and Road.

Latin America and the Caribbean has "thousands of meteorology", which can provide many references for China's development. In its second policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean in 2016, China hailed it as a "hot land of vitality and hope." The strategic importance of supplying soybeans, oil, copper and other important products to China in this rich and vast region is of great strategic significance, and the high-quality meat, delicious fruits and vegetables, and fresh seafood also produced here also enrich the life of ordinary Chinese families. For Chinese enterprises, Latin America and the Caribbean are also a new stage in the context of economic transformation and upgrading, and enterprises such as the State Grid, Gezhouba Group, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Huawei are all blooming here. At the same time, the various experiences left by Latin American and Caribbean countries in exploring the path of development also deserve China's attention, especially in poverty alleviation, urbanization, social security, anti-corruption, and environmental protection.

China's development opportunities will be shared with developing countries, and it will also provide new opportunities and choices for Latin America and the Caribbean to realize their long-cherished aspirations of development and independence. In the political and diplomatic fields, these countries have long suffered from the aggression of external powers, but China, which advocates peaceful development, has shown a different style, and the new type of international relations advocated by China, which advocates mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, has reached the hearts of many Latin Americans. In terms of economy and trade, there is a strong complementarity between the current Economies of China and Latin America, and even during the epidemic period, the overall situation of Trade between China and Latin America has remained stable, stabilizing the Latin American economy that has been hit hard by the epidemic. At the same time, China is vigorously optimizing its economic and trade structure, cooperating with it in important fields such as manufacturing, infrastructure construction, scientific and technological innovation, and information technology, and helping Latin American countries achieve industrial upgrading while making its own progress, so as to benefit Latin America with its own development.

Today, we are closer, more confident and capable of achieving the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any time in history, which is also an incentive for the vast number of developing countries, including Latin American countries. China's development proves that the great power that Neruda admired can be manifested, and the reality of strangling the wrist will eventually change. On the new development journey, China and Latin America will move forward hand in hand and jointly exert their wisdom and strength to make due contributions to the world's great civilization.