Ｓｉｎｏ－Ｌａｔｉｎ Ａｍｅｒｉｃａｎ Ｔｒａｄｅ，Ｃｌｏｓｅｒ Ｔｉｅ

The financial crisis has provided a new opportunity forSino-Latin American cooperation.In the past few years，China's economic ties to Latin America have witnessedcomparable growth: from 1993 to 2003，China's tradewith Latin America increased by 600 percent.Chinese presidentHu .lintao set the mark for increasing trade with Latin Americato US$100 billion by 2010，a goal easily met when trade surged toUS$102.6 billion in 2007，which represents a 42.6 percent increasefrom 2006.In the first nine months of 2008，it was already up 52percent from the same period 2007.It is widely believed that Chinaand Latin Alnerica share the same pictures in the field of economicdevelopment，and increased relations between the two sides aremutually beneficial.Commented on the just-issued Chinese policypaper on Latin America and the Caribbean Region，the first on thistopic，Jiang Shixue，vice president of the Chinese Association forLatin American Studies said the document is a clear indication thatChina is willing to promote Sino-Latin America ties，which will befocused on economics and trade.