Yet the limited knowledge and understanding between the region's countries and China are preventing opportunities for this kind of joint endeavors to emerge. Therefore, China and the region's countries need to make efforts to better facilitate and coordinate the provisions of training and capacity building that would add quality to their dealings.

Apart from the creation of specific task forces which would oversee the models for new projects that are capable of intertwining investment, trade and industrial upgrading, a supplementary trade agenda is needed to effectively deepen cooperation between China and the region. Such an agenda would help China and the region's countries to cash in on the expertise of different players, both public and private, and improve their interactions and exchanges. By promoting synergy, it would also identify through formats such as expert meetings on specific areas that can add thrust to trade and investment projects.

For instance, the region's countries could learn from China's Village Electrification Program to generate renewable electricity for their rural areas. And given the sustained interest Chinese renewable energy companies have shown in the region's markets, it would be easy to build joint partnerships in this field.

In terms of form, such an agenda could facilitate and refine South-South triangular cooperation projects on specific issues. It could also help design organizational models for South-North-South cooperation, in which the expertise of different partners can be exchanged on the key premise of equality, shared ownership and sustainability.

Such arrangements could include traditional partners in international cooperation such as the European Union states and even the United States. Involving the US under clear terms of cooperation would not only benefit all sides, but also prove that China and the region's countries are committed to establishing a peaceful and stable region, which, in turn, would foster economic growth and prosperity for all.

In conclusion, a supplementary trade agenda would use the new impetus in the ties between China and the region to broaden their desired cooperation. Serving as the basis of more meaningful and sustainable economic engagement, the agenda would indeed take the multilateral relationship to greater heights.

The author is executive president of LatinChina Network for Development.

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