Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting in October 2023. Photo: EFE/Ken Ishii.
As president pro tempore of CELAC, the Colombian leader will use the opportunity to strengthen ties during the ongoing tariff war.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed this Monday that he will travel to Beijing in May to participate in the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and China.
“We’re getting ready for a trip to China. I’m going as president of CELAC… I’m now twice-president – president of Colombia and president of Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said during a cabinet meeting broadcast nationwide.
Petro’s participation in the CELAC-China Forum meeting had been announced on April 9 by Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia, who accompanied him to the CELAC summit in Tegucigalpa where Colombia assumed the bloc’s pro tempore presidency.
“I want to talk with the Chinese about dialogue among civilizations, about Latin America’s need to embrace the world, and about Colombia, obviously, to sign several trade agreements,” the president added Tuesday.
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In Tegucigalpa, Sarabia met with Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s Special Representative for Latin American Affairs. They confirmed the CELAC-China foreign ministers’ meeting will occur in Beijing on May 13 with Petro’s participation. The other two members of CELAC’s leadership troika (Honduras and Uruguay) are also expected to attend.
Last week, Petro met in Bogotá with Chinese Ambassador Zhu Jingyang to prepare for the upcoming meeting.
The CELAC-China Forum, established in 2014 to promote development and cooperation across multiple sectors, takes on special significance this year under Colombia’s leadership amid global uncertainty caused by the US trade war.
To date, the Forum has held three ministerial meetings: January 2015 in Beijing, January 2018 in Santiago, Chile, and December 2021 in Mexico City. The upcoming May meeting marks its return to Beijing.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH
