AFP, Santa Cruz De La Sierra :
China, whose presence in Latin America until now was largely based on an appetite for raw materials, is diversifying investments by financing much needed development projects, analysts say.
At a summit, opening Saturday in Santa Cruz, the G77 + China group of developing nations meets on its 50th anniversary to promote economic development.
Delegations from 133 countries and some three dozen heads of state will be in attendance.
“China now acts in a different way with South American countries,” said Gabriel Dabdoub, president of the chamber of commerce of the Santa Cruz region, Bolivia’s economic engine.
The Asian powerhouse “no longer aims at only at buying raw materials, it wants to get into investing in industrialization,” Dabdoub told AFP.
Bolivia, Latin America’s poorest country, has experienced more than six percent growth in recent years and has plans for major infrastructure work.
“China is particularly attracted by industrialization projects that the country needs over the next 10 years and which cost an estimated $42 billion,” Dabdoub said.
Chinese companies have expressed interest most notably in building a railway from Bolivia to Brazil, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as in road and river connection projects.
