The Guangzhou Port in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, which opened a direct route to Peru's Chancay Port on April 29, 2025 Photo: VCG

Starting June 1, 2025, China's visa-free policy will benefit nationals of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, with the trial period lasting until May 31, 2026, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing on Thursday.

This marks the latest move by China and its partners from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region as the two sides are writing a new chapter in building a China-LAC community with a shared future after the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum held on Tuesday in Beijing. 

During the meeting on Tuesday, China and LAC countries reached an action plan for cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure, technology, and agriculture for the next three years, providing a detailed roadmap for overall cooperation between China and the LAC region, and further enhancing the quality of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the official launch of the China-CELAC Forum. Despite the geographical distance between China and the LAC region, the two sides have been actively engaging with each other over the past decade. Economic and trade cooperation between China and the region has yielded impressive results: trade between China and the region reached $518.4 billion in 2024, doubling the figure recorded a decade ago. By 2023, Chinese investment in the region had exceeded $600 billion, according to Xinhua. 

As the second-largest trading partner of the LAC region, China now has more free trade agreements in the region than anywhere outside Asia. The advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has also established a broader new bridge for cooperation between the two sides, according to International Business Daily, a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 

On Wednesday, China and Columbia signed a cooperation plan between the two governments on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Before Columbia, more than 20 countries in the LAC region have joined the Belt and Road cooperation framework, according to Xinhua. 

A host of projects jointly built under the BRI, including the Brazil's Belo Monte UHVDC (ultra-high-voltage direct current) Power Transmission Project, Argentina's Belgrano Cargas Cargas freight rail network and the Jamaica North-South Highway, have borne fruit.

In Peru, the Chancay Port offers an opportunity to enhance its role in the global supply chain. In Mexico, the renovated Line 1 of the Mexico City Metro, where Chinese companies assisted in upgrading the system's equipment, has improved the commuting experience for citizens, serving as a microcosm of the benefits of China-LAC cooperation.

People-to-people exchange projects have also helped to promote cultural appreciation and emotional closeness between the peoples of China and LAC countries, solidifying the foundation of public opinion for the long-term development of China-LAC relations. 

Cultural exchange activities, including the China-LAC Year of Cultural Exchange and the "Bridge to the Future" program, have promoted unique experiences such as visits by young Latin Americans to Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province, to learn about the ancient Silk Road, according to the website of the Belt and Road Portal. 

Learning Chinese culture and language has gained popularity in the region, with 57 Confucius Institutes and Classrooms having been established in 26 countries. Cultural exchanges such as cultural relic exhibitions on ancient civilizations in China and Mexico have promoted mutual understanding, according to the website. 

According to a recent survey by the Global Times Institute, in collaboration with the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the China-Latin America Education and Culture Center, over 90 percent of respondents affirmed the importance of a harmonious and friendly China-LAC relationship for China's future development, and expressed a desire for the relationship to maintain its status quo or become even friendlier. 

"With the advent of a multi-polar world, I believe that the voices and demands of the Global South in the international political agenda will be strengthened. The LAC and China will actively participate in the construction of a new international political and economic order," Lourdes Regueiro, a CLACSO coordinator, told the Global Times.

A construction worker works on the first line of the metro in Bogota, Columbia, on March 17, 2025. The line, with two Chinese companies being responsible for its design, construction, equipment supply, procurement and maintenance, is expected to begin operations in 2028. Photo: VCG

Customs officers at Shanghai's Yangshan Port check avocados transported from Peru's Chancay Port on December 19, 2024. These avocados are among the first 20,000 tons of Peruvian products arriving in Shanghai from Chancay after the Peruvian port officially opened in November 2024. Photo: VCG

A model of the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) on display at a science exhibition to mark the 10th China's Space Day at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center on April 28, 2025. Photo: VCG

A visitor takes a photo of Mexican relics during an exhibition titled "The Pursuit of the Jaguar: Exhibition of Ancient Mexican Civilizations" on June 7, 2024, in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: VCG

Students from the Confucius Institute at Sao Paulo State University wear Hanfu and learn to make rice dumplings during an open day activity at the Consulate General of China in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival. Photo: VCG

Officials from the government of Mexico City and the Mexico City Metro along with others take a tour on the renovated Cuauhtemoc-Chapultepec section of Line 1 of the Mexico Metro before a press conference on March 28, 2025. Photo: VCG