On January 9, 2015, after the conclusion of the first ministerial meeting of the Forum between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the press together with Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez Sanz of Costa Rica, the rotating presidency of the CELAC, expressing that China and the CELAC members are all developing countries as well as emerging markets, and though far apart geographically, they are natural cooperative partners.

Wang Yi said that both sides enjoy the tradition of profound friendship. Both peoples show solidarity and support to each other in their cause of national liberation, safeguarding national sovereignty and constructing modernization, forging a profound friendship. This serves as public opinion foundation for China-CELAC relations.

Both sides have common political appeal. China and the CELAC are both important and positive forces in safeguarding peace, stability and development of the world, share the same or similar stance on major international and regional issues, advocate world multi-polarization and democratization of international relations, and dedicate to pushing international order toward a more just and reasonable direction. This serves as political foundation for China-CELAC relations.

Both sides face similar development tasks. China and the CELAC members are all developing countries and take development as the core task in their national strategies, therefore they hope to further intensify experience exchange in development concept and governance and administration of state affairs. This serves as concept foundation for China-CELAC relations.

Both sides are highly complementary in economy and trade. Latin America, with vast territory and abundant resources, enjoys huge development space, while China, with its huge population, is the second largest economy in the world. Both sides, with their respective advantages in such areas as resources, technology, capital and market, need each other and boast huge cooperation potential. This serves as economic and material foundation for China-CELAC relations.

Wang Yi stressed that it is the above basic factors that joined hands of China and the CELAC across the Pacific Ocean. Carrying out overall cooperation not only serves as the common aspiration of both sides for a long time, but also conforms to the trend of in-depth development of trans-regional cooperation and South-South cooperation. Under the personal care and promotion of leaders and the joint efforts of both sides, the overall cooperation came true from a concept very shortly, and one may say that we smoothly achieved this with great public support. China firmly believes that well developing China-CELAC Forum and pushing for in-depth development of bilateral overall cooperation will surely realize advantageous complementarity in a better manner and common development at a higher level, further enrich the connotation of South-South cooperation and better benefit the two peoples.