The China-LAC 2017 summit was the largest summit among all Latin American editions

The 11th China LAC 2017 Business Summit, held at the Punta del Este Convention Center from November 30 to December 2, brought together about 2,400 foreign and domestic businessmen, trade organizations, authorities and media from China, America Latina and the Caribbean.

The eleventh edition of Punta del Este is the one that has reached the highest level since the creation of this space of trade and cooperation that takes place every year, in China and Latin America.

The China-LAC summit is promoted by the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and this time organized by the agency for the promotion of investments, exports and country image, Uruguay XXI.

More than 600 participants arrived from the People's Republic of China, 836 from Latin American and Caribbean countries, and 760 from Uruguayan entrepreneurs who participated. A hundred media from the region and China have attended to cover the event.

The President of the Republic, Tabaré Vázquez, was the keynote speaker at the official opening, led by Antonio Carámbula, executive director of Uruguay XXI, on behalf of the coordination of the event. Vazquez valued the confidence placed in Uruguay as an organizing country and noted that "China occupies a central place in the future of the region that is not marked and that we must build together from now on".

In turn, the vice president of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, MaPeihua stressed the importance of the growth of trade between China and Uruguay that "has grown by 28% in the last year" and invited entrepreneurs to expand their business with the country Asia: "We want to strengthen the synergy between the businesses of China and Latin America and the Caribbean, the remoteness can not prevent the exchange," he said.

Also participating in the inauguration was the host intendant, Enrique Antía, who welcomed foreign businessmen and invited them to visit the city and the department, Chen Zhou, president of CCPIT, and IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno.

The latter presented the cases of the Lifan and Hawei companies and pointed out the likelihood that the People's Republic of China will surpass the United States as a foreign direct investment issuer. "(China) is preparing to be the world's largest economy in the next three years," he said.

After the opening Vázquez and ChenZhou, vice president of CCPIT, the Chinese council for the promotion of international trade, toured the national stands of the People's Republic of China and Uruguay, as well as the fairground in which 140 companies and organizations from 40 countries exhibited their products and services-

During the morning of the first day the plenary sessions were held. Important national and international panelists made contributions on the new vision of the collaboration between China and Latin America in the framework of the strategy "a strip and a route", and the development and cooperation in infrastructure between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the afternoon, parallel sessions were held on investment opportunities in agribusiness, global services, electronic commerce, and clean energies, in which Chinese, Latin American and leading business leaders participated in these sectors.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Danilo Astori, of Industry, Energy and Mining, Carolina Cosse, of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Tabaré Aguerre, as well as the Undersecretary Pablo Ferreri, presided over the panels related to their portfolios.

At night Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa led the ceremony of transfer of Uruguay to the city of Zhuhai, city of the province of Canton to be hosted in 2018. In his speech the foreign minister referred to the meeting in Punta del Este as "A relevant and fruitful field in the new stage of China's economic and social development (...) and the planning of the integral relationship that, as a region, we aspire to have with this country, on the eve of the next CELAC-China Foreign Ministers Meeting that will have place in January 2018. "

Hundreds of business meetings took place throughout the summit, both in the 140 stands of the 40 countries present, and in the business round organized on the morning of Saturday, December 2. To close the day, 200 foreign businessmen made technical visits focused on agribusiness - Bodegas Garzón and Olivares - and in Zonamérica and Antel Data Center, a visit attended by those interested in learning about Uruguay's corporate, logistics and technology services.

In the framework of China LAC, the so-called Trade Promotion Organizations (TPO) meeting was also held among 30 promotion agencies and trade organizations from 16 countries in China and Latin America and the Caribbean, which culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Punta del Este, as well as bilateral agreements of cooperation between agencies.

In another order, the day before the start, Minister of Tourism Liliam Kechichián was the host of the welcome to international visitors held at the Ralli museum, with national shows at the welcome cocktail, sponsored by the inter-institutional program A Walk for the Senses that promotes the gastronomic culture of Uruguay.

During the three days, thousands of visitors crossed the stand of Uruguay where meetings were also held and consultations were made on investment opportunities and exportable supply of the country. The stand was developed by the agency Uruguay XXI, created from natural materials and the presence of national furniture design; it counted on a store of exhibition of products of the country, experiences of virtual reality of tourism, culture, agro intelligent production and technology of Uruguay.

China represents the second largest economy in the world with a growing importance worldwide that is explained, among other reasons, by having the highest rate of GDP growth in the last two decades (about 10% annual average). Specifically, the Chinese economy represented 15% of global GDP in 2016.

The Asian country is investing more and more in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean is the second region that receives more Foreign Direct Investment from China with 14% of the total.

China represents the second largest economy in the world with a growing importance worldwide that is explained, among other reasons, by having the highest rate of GDP growth in the last two decades (about 10% annual average). Specifically, the Chinese economy represented 15% of global GDP in 2016.

The Asian country is investing more and more in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean is the second region that receives more Foreign Direct Investment from China with 14% of the total.