China, Latin America solidify cooperation with premier's visit

The three countries first revealed the project in July last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping made his second visit to Latin America since taking office in 2013.

"The railway link will be a significant deal between China, Brazil and Peru in that it will boost local economic development, improve infrastructure, and also benefit China-Latin America trade. China hopes the project will progress based on the feasibility study," Tong said.

The Chinese government has been promoting industrial and equipment cooperation with overseas markets as it seeks to upgrade its industries and bolster a slowing economy.

Over the weekend, the government named more than a dozen priority sectors targeted for strengthened cooperation, including steel, construction, non-ferrous metals, railways, electric power, chemicals, textiles, automobiles, telecommunications, machinery, aviation and aerospace, ship building, and maritime engineering.

China is taking into account other countries' actual needs and concerns while advancing industrial cooperation, according to analysts.

Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said Chinese technology and equipment will boost Latin America's industrial upgrades in sectors such as manufacturing, e-commerce, industrial park construction, and high-speed rail.

Cooperation in these areas is expected to strengthen bilateral ties as China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries aim to double trade to $500 billion annually in ten years.

Bilateral trade in 2014 stood at $263.6 billion, up 0.8 percent year on year, Ministry of Commerce data showed.

China and Brazil's roles in emerging institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS Development Bank have indicated increasing interest in cooperation.

In the latest gesture toward pragmatic cooperation in infrastructure projects and trade, the China Development Bank has set up a targeted loan worth $20 billion to support Chinese companies' infrastructure projects in Latin America. The Export-Import Bank of China has also offered $10 billion of preferential loans to Latin American nations to boost trade with China.