【By Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】According to Xinhua News Agency, on September 30 local time, the 31st regular meeting of the Andean Community (AC) Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The meeting unanimously passed a resolution, formally admitting China as an observer state of the organization.
The South China Morning Post of Hong Kong reported on October 6, citing analysts, that since China and the AC reached an agreement to establish a consultation mechanism in 1999, the two sides have maintained contact. Now, with China officially becoming an observer state of the AC, this move will help China strengthen its strategic foothold in the region and promote the development of industries ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to electric vehicles.
"China is undoubtedly taking advantage of the Trump administration's aggressive tariff policies. Just when these (Latin American) countries hope to export more products to the global market, the Trump administration is increasing trade barriers," said an expert. The recent U.S. policies, including tariff policies, have proven what China has said—that China is a more reliable and stable partner, while the United States is not truly concerned about the interests of other countries."
"In other words, China's message is: 'While the U.S. is closing its doors, we are still open for business.' "Lazarus Consulting, a company providing consulting services on Sino-Latin American relations, its founder Leland Lazarus (Chinese name Luo Lilan) described it this way.
On September 30, 2025, in Bogotá, Colombia, Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio (right), Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Sommerfeld (center), and Peruvian Ambassador to Colombia and Secretary General of the Andean Community, Gonzalo Gutiérrez, attended the handover ceremony of the rotating chairmanship of the Andean Community. Visual China
The AC was established in May 1969 and is an important regional economic integration organization in Latin America, with its headquarters in Lima, the capital of Peru. It currently has four official member states: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia. Chile and Venezuela left the organization in 1976 and 2006 respectively.
Liang Tianjiao, vice director of the BRICS Research Center at Fudan University, stated that the latest developments mark a new stage in China's relationship with Latin American countries. He believes that China's status as an observer state of the AC will further deepen economic and investment ties with the Latin American region.
In addition, Liang Tianjiao believes that as a major Asian economy, China's formal accession to the AC family is also a key step in deepening the global South's strategic layout. "This move not only means the deepening of China-Latin America cooperation, but also strengthens the common voice of developing countries through institutionalized participation in regional affairs."
The South China Morning Post pointed out that while the U.S. President Trump launched a tariff war against countries around the world, China, as an important member of the developing world, pledged to safeguard the global order.
Liang Tianjiao said that China's joining the AC can help countries "hedge" against the impact of Trump's comprehensive tariff policy, because economies today are increasingly forced to seek alternative markets.
"As an observer, China can provide Latin America with a more stable export channel through regional cooperation mechanisms," Liang Tianjiao said. In this context, he believes that China's new identity can also be seen as a signal from China and AC member states — "they believe that strengthening South-South cooperation and jointly maintaining multilateral order helps to hedge against the impact of unilateral pressure from the United States."
"China's (as an observer) accession will further enhance its influence network in Latin America and the Global South, providing institutional support for rising to a global power," Liang Tianjiao added.
On November 12, 2024, in Peru's Chancay Port, a cargo ship is moored. Visual China
Leland Lazarus, founder of Lazarus Consulting, said that this development is the latest example of China's growing influence in South America and will also provide China with another way to promote its framework, including the recently proposed global governance initiative.
Last month, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Tianjin Summit, China proposed the global governance initiative, stating that the initiative could improve global governance against the backdrop of a rapidly changing and turbulent world.
Lazarus also noted that the four member states of the AC hold rich gold, copper, and lithium resources, forming a natural complementarity with China's development needs in future industries such as AI and electric vehicles.
In fact, in recent years, bilateral trade and economic relations between China and Latin American countries have moved toward more diversified and in-depth development. The abundant resources of Latin America and China's market and technological advantages have strong complementary and mutual benefits, and strengthening cooperation in these areas, deepening industrial chain development, will not only help Latin America achieve more sustainable economic modernization, but also create broader development prospects for the China-Latin America community with a shared future, thereby injecting new vitality into global economic governance.
At last week's 31st regular meeting of the AC Council of Foreign Ministers, representatives of the member states stated that China has always played an important role in the international community and global governance. China's admission as an observer state of the AC has significant historical significance, and they look forward to promoting cooperation between the two sides, advancing the process of regional economic integration and sustainable development, and better safeguarding the common interests of developing countries.
Zhang Liping, acting head of the Chinese embassy in Colombia, praised the AC's decision, expressing China's willingness to work with Latin American countries to implement the "five major projects" of building a China-Latin America community with a shared future, opening up a new pattern of mutual promotion between bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and better benefiting both sides' people.
The South China Morning Post also introduced that in recent years, China has continuously strengthened cooperation with Latin American economies through the China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Community Forum mechanism.
This May, the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Community Forum was held in Beijing. At this meeting, regional leaders heard China's message — that China is a "good friend and good partner," and will work with regional economies to promote development and jointly resist bullying and unilateralism.
On May 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that China-Latin America cooperation is not afraid of storms and crosses mountains and seas without asking the direction. China will continue to support each other on issues involving core interests and major concerns, jointly implement the three global initiatives, safeguard the multilateral trading system and open cooperation environment, and defend international fairness and justice and world peace and stability. We believe that by uniting and cooperating to deal with risks and challenges, and by mutually beneficial cooperation to pursue development and prosperity, the China-Latin America Forum will firmly move towards the next "golden decade," creating a new chapter of the joint self-strengthening of the Global South and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
This article is an exclusive article by Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558481795658924579/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the [Up/Down] buttons below.