Cooperation expected to bring shared benefits

China has been working with Latin American countries to build logistics, electricity and information pathways in recent years, and analysts said the cooperation will continue to enhance and achieve shared benefits for both sides.

Latin America is a significant market for Chinese companies as they can offer projects with faster growth opportunities given the markets are less mature, said Joseph Jacobelli, a senior analyst of Asian utilities and infrastructure at Bloomberg Intelligence in Hong Kong.

"The growth prospects for the region are bright, and it is believed China will continue to work with partners in the region for shared development," he said.

According to Jacobelli, Chinese companies see an obvious advantage for future development in the continent, with their advanced technology in infrastructure construction as well as in the energy sector, including distributed photovoltaic power grid technology and renewable energy technology.

"Chinese companies like China Gezhouba Group and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the country's biggest geothermal developer, have accumulated investment knowledge from their projects overseas during the past few years, and they have the strength to help Latin American countries to improve local construction," he said.

State-owned Power Construction Corp of China, also known as Power China, will use its advanced photovoltaic technology and construction experience in the 315 megawatt Cauchari solar project in the Argentine province of Jujuy.

It is the first large-scale photovoltaic power generation project in the country, as well as the highest-altitude photovoltaic power plant in Latin America at 4,200 meters above sea level.

The project will provide valuable experience in green energy development, create jobs for local people and promote local economic development, Power China said.

In Colombia, Chinese enterprises are also stepping up their presence in recent years.

According to Zhu Jianguo, CEO of New Granada Energy Colombia, a subsidiary of Sinopec, industries including oil infrastructure construction, automobiles, information technology and telecommunication are developing rapidly in the country, and China has become Colombia's second-largest trading partner.

The time has come for China to make investments in Latin America's energy, mining, science, technology and digital sectors, said Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the Chile-based Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

China has increased its foreign direct investment in Brazil in a very concrete field - electricity - and joint investment in solar energy in Latin America would be ideal, she said.

China has pledged to increase annual trade with the Latin American region to $500 billion and foreign direct investment to over $250 billion for the five-year period between 2015 and 2019.

President Xi Jinping's official visits to Argentina and Panama, following his attendance at the G20 Leaders' Summit in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires in early December, are believed to have turned a new page in China's relations with these two countries, and help to further enhance reciprocal cooperation between China and Latin America.