UN official urges LatAm to make most of China's Belt and Road Initiative

SANTIAGO -- Member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) should work more closely together to take advantage of the opportunities offered by China's Belt and Road Initiative, said a UN official.

Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the Chile-based Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), spoke with Xinhua about the potential for cooperation between China and the 33-member CELAC, Latin America's largest regional bloc.

Proposed in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity along and beyond ancient Silk Road trade routes, thus building a new platform for international cooperation to create new drivers of growth.

"Latin America is very interested in forming part of this initiative," said Barcena.

Another opportunity to boost China-CELAC cooperation is coming up as the second ministerial meeting under the framework of China and the Forum of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or the China-CELAC Forum, opened Friday in Santiago and will last till Monday, with the Belt and Road Initiative as one of its main themes.