Petro arrives in China to negotiate stronger ties with Latin America – Colombia News

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro arrived in China for a five-day visit that seeks to strengthen ties between the Asian giant and Latin America.

As president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations (CELAC), Petro aspires a more prominent role for the region in global affairs.

My mission will be to help us connect Latin America and the Caribbean with the whole world, to be a bridge to the world and to be a our own self.

Gustavo Petro

Luis Inacio La Silva of Brazil and Gabriel Boric of Chile will join their Colombian counterpart for a summit organized by the Chines government in the capital Beijing.

Petro has also said that he seeks to formalize the government’s intention to join the Belt and Road Initiative, which would allow Colombia to develop the infrastructure needed for a more prominent role in global trade, according to the president.

Additionally, “we are going to talk about investments and the purchase of Colombian products” by Chinese businesses, said Petro.

The president’s bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts seek to make Colombia, “because of its geographical position, the heart of the world, socially, politically and economically.”

In order to achieve this, the Petro administration and the European Union have agreed to hold another summit that seek to improve ties between Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Last but not least, “we have requested the United States for a CELAC-US summit.”

The government of US President Donald Trump expressed its opposition to Petro’s attempts to conduct a foreign policy that seeks to diminish Colombia’s dependency to North America.

“Petro’s rapprochement with China is a great opportunity for Ecuadorian roses and Central American coffee,” The US Government’s Special Envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, told press last week.