April 28 marks the 11th anniversary of the Pacific Alliance. The Pacific Alliance, composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, aims to strengthen the coordination of trade policies among the Countries bordering the Pacific in Latin America, promote the free flow of goods, services, capital and personnel within the Alliance, and strive to become the most attractive Latin American sub-regional organization in Asia and the most convenient entrance to the Latin American market in Asia. China became an observer state of the Alliance in 2013.
What is unique about the RegionalIzed Organization of the Pacific Alliance? What are the prospects for the cooperation and development of the Alliance with China and other Asian countries? Focusing on these issues, the overseas network recently interviewed Luis Quesada, Ambassador of Peru to China Luis Monsalve, Ambassador of Colombia to China Luis Monsalve, Mexican Ambassador to China Syard and Deputy Director of the Chilean Embassy in China Sergio Narea.
Promote Latin American integration
What is unique about the Pacific Alliance as a subregional organization in Latin America?
Ambassador of Peru to the People's Republic of China, Luis Quesada
According to Luis Quesada, the Pacific Alliance is a regional integration mechanism composed of four economies committed to the free flow of goods, services, capital and people, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. The alliance covers a large population and has great potential for development. Trade and investment among member countries are dynamic and open. At the same time, the Alliance also has a large number of observer states and candidate contact countries, which is becoming increasingly attractive in the international arena. These factors make the Pacific Alliance unique among the many regional mechanisms in Latin America.
Schyard said that under the new world economic order, Latin America occupies a key position in the global trading system. With the goal of progressively promoting the free flow of goods, services, capital and talent within the region, the Pacific Alliance is the most solid regional organization in the process of Latin American trade integration.
Luis Monsalve said that in just 11 years since its establishment, the Pacific Alliance has become one of the most innovative integration strategies in Latin America. Pragmatic, inclusive and flexible, it does not seek to compete with other mechanisms, but seeks to promote the process of Latin American integration, while promoting the integration of the Latin American region into globalization, and actively creating favorable conditions for the integration of the Alliance with other economies.
Commenting on the role of the Pacific Alliance on the global stage, Schyader said that as a pioneering regional integration mechanism, the Pacific Alliance has sent an important message to the world - a modern, orderly Latin America has played an important role in the process of trade liberalization and integration. At the same time, the Pacific Alliance not only aims to reach a free trade agreement in the traditional sense, but also combines the promotion strategies of member countries to jointly open offices, abolish visa thresholds, unify the university degree system and even integrate the stock market, and strive to become a docking platform for economic and trade integration policies with a broad global vision.
Luis Monsalwe said the primary task of the Pacific Alliance is to promote multilateralism and maintain world order by providing a predictable legal framework for economic agents to develop trade in goods and services and investment through transparent, inclusive and WTO-standard free trade agreements. Along these lines, the Alliance strives to simplify and harmonize intraregional trade rules to facilitate trade and facilitate the integration of member states into regional and global supply chains.
Luis Quesada believes that the idea behind the Pacific Alliance is to better manage at the regional level and participate in the process of global integration. In addressing the challenges of the complex process of Latin American integration within the framework of globalization, the Pacific Alliance has also had multiple impacts on the lives of individual countries and their societies.
Sergio Narea said the Pacific Alliance has a unique structure that combines a vision of comprehensive sustainable development with effective trade agreements among member states in order to build strength within the Pacific Alliance. Third countries wishing to negotiate with the alliance can treat the Pacific Alliance as a whole, not just the sum of several countries. For Chile, the Pacific Alliance is a priority for strengthening latin American trade policies, changing relations with neighbouring countries, enhancing local productive capacities, establishing production chains and stimulating development in new areas such as renewable energy.
Deepen cooperation with China
Since the establishment of the Pacific Alliance, what kind of cooperative relationship has developed with China?
Ambassador of Mexico to China Syyad
Schyyad recalled that in the past 11 years, the Pacific Alliance has witnessed further growth and development of China's economy and society, and the members of the Alliance will continue to pay attention to the goals and achievements of China's five-year plan and other medium- and long-term development strategies. It is worth mentioning that poverty eradication is still one of the most important challenges facing the development of Latin America, so the Pacific Alliance hopes to further understand and learn from the specific measures taken by China in poverty alleviation, so as to study policies suitable for the situation of Latin American countries. China has always been willing to share the successful experience accumulated in recent years of development, and this open attitude has made Latin America and China cooperation closer and closer.
Luis Quesada said that China is one of the observer states of the Pacific Alliance, one of the four most important trading partners of the alliance members, and the world's leading economy to overcome the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and achieve positive economic growth. In the fight against COVID-19, China has provided substantial assistance to Latin America, especially in providing COVID-19 vaccines. All of this presents an important opportunity to continue to deepen cooperation between the Pacific Alliance and China to benefit the people of Latin America in the post-pandemic era.
Luis Montsalwe said that the Pacific Alliance attaches great importance to the Asia-Pacific region, and the framework agreement regards the Asia-Pacific region as a priority geographical region for international business. The alliance notes the growth of the Asian market in recent decades and recognizes China's regional leadership. As an ideal platform for Latin America to connect with the Asia-Pacific region, the Pacific Alliance offers China access to important markets for investment, goods and services with a pragmatic vision conducive to integration and foreign trade.
Cooperation is not limited to economics and trade
As the Pacific Alliance enters a new decade, the prospects for deepening cooperation between the Alliance and China are promising.
Sergio Narea said that the Pacific Alliance urgently needs to be integrated not only into global value chains, but also into regional value chains. Against the backdrop of rapid geopolitical evolution, the Pacific Alliance provides the tools to work within the alliance and with observer states such as China. China has a central role to play in the Pacific Alliance's efforts to further exploit the potential of Asian markets. Cooperation based on the Pacific Alliance's cooperation fund is a direct way for the Alliance to cooperate with China. At the same time, the Fourth Pacific Alliance Cooperation Forum, to be held this year, will also provide a unique opportunity to strengthen cooperation with China.
Ambassador of Colombia to the People's Republic of China, Luis Monsalve
Luis Monsalve believes that since 2013, China has been participating in the process of the Alliance as an observer, sharing the principles and objectives of the Alliance, promoting growth, development and competitiveness in order to achieve greater well-being, overcoming socio-economic inequalities and improving social inclusion, and promoting international cooperation. The Alliance's cooperation with China is not limited to the economic and trade spheres, but has set a complete agenda that includes the promotion and strengthening of sustainable development, digital markets, gender equality, creative industries, culture, student exchanges and activities in other fields. In this sense, china can share important experiences in many areas of potential and complementarity.
Schyadh said that driven by the global value chain, the international trade structure has changed, and Latin America has become an investment destination trusted and favored by the Chinese side, with semi-finished product processing, automobiles, electronic appliances and medical technology as popular investment areas. Under such a premise, china's cooperation with the Pacific Alliance has been deepening, significantly promoting regional development and market diversification. At the same time, the four countries of the Pacific Alliance are also concerned about China's scientific and technological development achievements and their positive impact on the quality of people's lives, whether it is medical and health care, food safety, transportation and logistics, or to combat climate change and disaster prevention and mitigation, there are good cooperation opportunities conducive to exchanges and interaction between the two sides.
Luis Quesada further said that in order to meet the challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, science, innovation and productivity will run through Latin America-China cooperation. The future agenda of the Pacific Alliance will continue to focus on cooperation in the field of science and technology and deepen mutual understanding through academic and people-to-people exchanges. These areas have enormous potential and will shape the relationship for decades to come. In a more pragmatic environment, the Pacific Alliance should strengthen discussions with China on the possibility of cooperation in plastic waste management, women's economic empowerment, regional digital markets, and the promotion of creative industries. (Wu Zhengdan)
Source: Overseas Network