Peru's Ambassador to China Marco Vinicio Balarezo Lizarzaburu Photo: Dong Feng/GT

The annual "two sessions," a highly anticipated event on China's political calendar, are being held in Beijing. "China has entered a new phase of high-quality development," said Peru's Ambassador to China Marco Vinicio Balarezo Lizarzaburu in an interview with the Global Times. He said that he pays the most attention to keywords such as "high-quality development," "green transformation," "scientific and technological innovation."

"When China develops, other countries such as Peru also benefit," he said. In Balarezo's view, this concept is the most appropriate description of China's development in recent years. 

China is promoting innovation in all walks of life, not merely fostering new industries but also introducing new technologies into traditional sectors. The country has gained impressive development in new technological fields, such as AI, which is in the spotlight among all the core issues globally. 

Under the "high-quality development" strategy, China's "green transformation" is also a topic that appears to be interesting for this Latin American diplomat. Balarezo is hopeful of China's development and future potential in the field of green industries.

He said China has become a "giant" in the new electric vehicles production. The country is also one of the leading players in the production of solar panels (photovoltaic panels) and other clean energy equipment. The ambassador has also communicated with many Chinese companies in these sectors, so that Peru can learn from China's experience to accelerate Peru's green and low-carbon transformation in its own energy industry.

"We look forward to in-depth cooperation with China in sectors such as charging infrastructure construction and lithium battery product development," said Balarezo. Due to its immense talent in this field, China has established the first Luban Workshop, a Chinese vocational education program, in Peru. The program aims at cultivate more local workers who understand lithium batteries and NEV manufacturing technology. At the same time, the Luban Workshop will create a broader space for cooperation between China and Peru in green industries.

Peru is one of the first Latin American countries to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to media reports. Meanwhile, the BRI is also one of the buzzwords in this year's report on the work of the government. 

Balarezo said one of the major advantages supporting China's economic development is China's well-developed infrastructure network. "Sometimes I mentioned this to Peruvian journalists, but they don't fully get it [how important it is]," he said.

The ambassador explained that with strong capabilities in technical, engineering and design, China is able to build the world's most advanced and complex tunnels, bridges and highways in very short time. This is one of the key reasons for the country's economic take-off, he said.

In relation to his own country, he said that "this is what is worth learning from. Suppose you were in Peru; you'd find that many of our infrastructures are still lagging behind - you'd see narrow roads and jammed traffic. It is important to understand that the infrastructure connection means the flow of people and commodities, which also means economic development and social connection." 

Balarezo said China and Peru can further strengthen cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and connectivity in the future, noting that the Chancay Port jointly built by China and Peru is a model.

By March 14, the Peruvian ambassador will complete his role in China. Balarezo said, "during my time in China, everything here impressed me. However, the most admiring part is that China has grown from a country with absolute poverty to the world's second largest economy in just a few decades." 

"From my point of view, China's economic success is backed up by the joint efforts of China's top leadership, local governments, as well as various economic departments and academia," he said. 

Balarezo said that he expects China to usher in greater prosperity in the future. "China's economic development is not only reflected at the national level, but also directly reflected in people's income. China is emerging from a middle-income country to a higher stage of development," he said. 

Balarezo stated that when China is becoming a country with stronger consumption power and a more prosperous economy, it will form a positive impact on the Peruvian economy. 

"We will embrace more investment from China and the trade between the two countries will further expand. When China develops, we will benefit from the outcome," said the ambassador.