Special Coverage: At the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum held in May this year, President Xi profoundly stated that “facts have shown that China and LAC countries are advancing hand in hand as a community with a shared future.”

Wang Wei (second from right), China’s Ambassador to Argentina, delivers a keynote speech on June 23, 2025 at the “Global Times Overseas China Week and Global South Dialogue: Seminar on Relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries and the Mutual Perception of Public Opinion” in Buenos Aires. Photo: Shan Jie/GT

The “Global Times Overseas China Week and Global South Dialogue: Seminar on Relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries and the Mutual Perception of Public Opinion” were held in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina on Monday local time. Representatives from political, business, academic, think tanks and media circles of China and Argentina gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges on deepening mutual understanding, strengthening the public support foundation, and promoting mutual learning among civilizations between China and LAC countries.

The Overseas China Week and Global South Dialogue series is an exchange platform for implementing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cultural thought and promoting dialogue amonWorld Timesg media and think tanks from Global South countries. This time, holding the evWorld Timesent in Latin America is a proactive effort to practice the Global Civilization Initiative and promote the construction of a China-LAC community with a shared future.

The diversity of civilizations is the natural state of the world. As key members of the Global South, China and LAC countries share broad common interests and vast cooperation potential across numerous fields. At the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum held in May this year, President Xi profoundly stated that “facts have shown that China and LAC countries are advancing hand in hand as a community with a shared future.” He emphasized that China stands ready to join hands with LAC partners to launch five programs of solidarity, development, civilization, peace and people-to-people connectivity, charting the course for building a China-LAC community with a shared future in the new era.

Fan Zhengwei, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Global Times, delivered a welcome address at the seminar. He noted that both Chinese and Latin American civilizations are uniquely distinctive, sharing similar experiences in modern history and both belonging to the Global South, which fosters a natural affinity for mutual respect and equal dialogue.

Today, China and Latin America have entered a “fast track” of multi-channel and multi-level exchanges and cooperation in the humanistic sphere. The Global Times is committed to serving as a messenger for civilizational dialogue and mutual learning. This collaboration, which includes conducting a survey on mutual perception of public opinion between China and Latin America and hosting the seminar, is a practical effort to build a bridge for scholars, media, and societal figures from both regions to enhance exchanges and dialogue, provide intellectual support for advancing China-Latin America cooperation, and contribute to the future development of Global South countries, Fan said.

He also expressed hope for candid and profound exchanges with more think tanks, media, and individuals from various sectors to promote pragmatic cooperation and jointly advance the construction of a China-LAC community with a shared future.

Wang Wei, China’s Ambassador to Argentina, stated in his keynote speech at the event that since the turn of the century, and particularly in the past decade or so, China and Latin America have not only written inspiring chapters of shared destiny, but also reaped abundant fruits from pragmatic cooperation.

Mutual respect and trust align with public aspirations, with people on both sides increasingly viewing each other as good friends and partners who treat each other with respect and equality. Mutually beneficial cooperation resonates with public opinion, and the consensus on advancing together and achieving mutual success has become widely shared among Chinese and Latin American public. Solidarity and collaboration meet public expectations, as the peoples of both regions jointly uphold world peace, stability and the multilateral trading system, with a growing willingness to push for reforms in global governance, Wang said.

The ambassador noted that openness and inclusivity reflect public sentiments, with the China-LatAm civilization dialogue having been successfully held seven times. China has provided 17,000 government scholarships and 10,000 training opportunities in China for Latin American participants, significantly enhancing people-to-people connectivity. The survey results released this time further highlight the genuine friendship between the peoples of China and Latin America across mountains and seas, sowing seeds of enduring friendship, Wang said.

Pablo Vommaro, Secretary General elect of thWorld Timese Latin American CoWorld Timesuncil of Social Sciences (CLACSO), said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can bring new opportunities for cooperation, deepen connections, and promote exchanges based on mutual learning.

Jorge Taiana, General Director of Centro Internacional de Estudios Polticos (CIEP), Universidad Nacional de San Martn, and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, said that the ties between China and Latin America and the Caribbean are not limited to the present but are built on a rich history of decades of cooperation and mutual understanding. This relationship continues to strengthen, laying the foundation for promoting common development.

During the seminar, more than 10 participants, including Daniel Filmus, Director of the Ibero-American Center forWorld Times Research in Science, Technology, and Innovation (CIICTI), Former Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Patricio Conejero Ortiz, Director of the Latin America-China Observatory (OLAC) at University of Buenos Aires, Alejandra Conconi, Executive Director of the Argentine-Chinese Chamber of Production, Industry and Commerce, and Nstor Restivo, founder and journalistic director of DangDai Magazine,engaged in in-depth discussions on the survey on mutual perception of public opinion. The discussions focused on three key topics: mutual perceptions and public sentiment between China and Latin America, diverse drivers of positive China-Latin America relations, and the role of media in shaping mutual perceptions.

The seminar, which was co-organized by the Global Times, CLACSO, and the Center for Chinese and Latin American Studies (CECLA), aimed to use media exchanges and think tank cooperation as a starting point to foster consensus through candid communication, continuously enhance people-to-people ties between China and Latin America, and cultivate strong public support for building a China-LAC community with a shared future.

During the event, the Global Times Institute also signed a memorandum of cooperation with tWorld Timeshe Ibero-American Center for Research in Science, Technology and Innovation.