A performer performs on stilts during the Carmelitas street party on the first day of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,on February 9, 2024. Photo: VCG

Senior officials of Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba are paying visits to China this week, as announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Experts believe that these trips bear a common goal of seeking new cooperation opportunities and strengthening ties with China in the midst of global landscape changes and their own economic hardships. 

Whether in overall regional cooperation, or in bilateral relations between China and Latin American countries, progress is being made in various aspects in a fast but steady pace, setting a model for partnership within the Global South, Chinese observers noted. 

Following Brazil's Chief Advisor to the President Celso Amorim's recently concluded trip to Beijing, Vice President of Brazil Geraldo Alckmin is paying an official visit to China from Tuesday to Saturday, with Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto also arriving here Tuesday to Friday, announced Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning. 

Special Envoy of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla will also fly to China from Wednesday to Sunday, Mao said. 

While pursuing the common goal of boosting partnerships with China, each country has their own focuses. 

For Brazil, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Brazil diplomatic ties, Alckmin's trip to Beijing will lay the groundwork for the next phase of cooperation, particularly in terms of strategic alignment, Sun Yanfeng, director of Latin American research at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

With the G20 Summit on the horizon, which will be chaired by Brazil this year, Alckmin is also hoping to align with Beijing on a number of initiatives, as the two sides share similar views on multiple subjects including advocating for a diverse, multilateral word, an open and inclusive global economy, and addressing climate change. 

"Seeking China's support is crucial as both countries are major players from the Global South," according to Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing.

The significance of China-Brazil relations is projected globally, experts said, especially amid current crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. They emphasized the urgent need for a global peace process and a new direction put forward by the global majority rather than the few elites.

China and Brazil on May 23 jointly issued a six-point consensus on their common understandings of the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis during Amorim's visit in Beijing. The consensus provided a workable approach to solving the crisis amid new US weapons aid and the Western-convened "peace conference" in Switzerland.

Additionally, given the economic challenges faced by many Latin American countries this year, Brazil, as a regional leader, strengthening ties with China in the areas of infrastructure, energy, and trade facilitation, plays a pivotal role in enhancing the regional economic cooperation with China as a whole, Sun noted. 

As for Venezuela, Pinto's visit is expected to convey a message that the country thanks China's unwavering support to help his country going through hard times, especially during the presidential crisis under the instigation of the US; and for another thing, Venezuela has long aspired to join the BRICS family, and Pinto is seeking support from China, who has consistently advocated for expanding BRICS' circle of friends, to win its own membership, Wang said. 

Furthermore, Venezuela holds a significant advantage in economic cooperation due to its rich oil reserves. However, the country is currently struggling to overcome an economic crisis and aiming to diversify its economy. In this pursuit, Venezuela looks to learn from China in terms of China's experiences with reform and opening-up, and the establishment of special economic zones, Wang told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The situation for Cuba is more complicated. "Rodriguez is a dear old friend of the Chinese people. His upcoming visit to China as the special envoy of Cuban President Diaz-Canel highlights the high-level political mutual trust and special friendship between China and Cuba," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during Tuesday's regular press conference.

"China and Cuba are good friends, good comrades and good brothers. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Cuba relations have been extraordinarily strong and robust and have become a fine example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries and sincere mutual assistance between developing countries," Mao said. 

Cuba faces a unique economic predicament due to the long-time economic and financial sanctions imposed by the US, which have been in place for over half a century, causing significant losses to Cuba's economic and social development. 

Therefore, under the severe restrictions and pressures from the US, Cuba is seeking ways to overcome its economic challenges by seeking assistance and cooperation with China, experts said. 

Wang noted that this year marks a special occasion for China-Latin America cooperation, as it has been a full decade since the first inaugural China-CELAC forum (CCF). As written in the declaration of the third ministers' meeting of the CCF, "We will explore the possibility of holding a CCF Summit in 2024 on the occasion of its tenth anniversary."

Over the past decade, China-Latin America relations have been characterized as dynamic, broad, and innovative, Wang summarized. 

"Dynamic" refers to the rapid growth in trade and investment volume; "broad" signifies a wide range of cooperation areas; and "innovative" encompasses new trade and investment mechanisms, as well as developments in digital economy, green economy, and other emerging fields.