The 13th China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit kicked off in Panama City on December 9. Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama delivered the keynote speech on the opening ceremony and visited the China-Latin America Trade and Investment Exhibition. Lu Pengqi, Vice Chairman of CCPIT, James P. Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest, Jorge Juan de la Guardia, President of Panama's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

Laurentino Cortizo said, “China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit is an important platform to promote our economic and trade cooperation. In recent years, we have seen rapid development in this regard, deepened our cooperation in infrastructure, finance and other fields and also facilitated financing.”

“Panama boasts an excellent geographical location and a sound investment environment, making Panama a gateway for Chinese companies to enter the Latin American market. We are willing to further promote our economic and trade cooperation and contribute to the prosperity of all countries,” added Lu.

With the theme of deepening international cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative and promoting development and prosperity, the summit is co-hosted by CCPIT, Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries and the Inter-American Development Bank. Nearly 1,300 Chinese and foreign representatives attended the summit.