ACCORDING TO THE STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS OF CHINA RECENTLY, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONTINUED SPREAD OF THE COVID-19 AND THE DIFFICULT RECOVERY OF THE WORLD ECONOMY, THE TOTAL TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS "LATIN AMERICA") HIT A NEW HIGH IN 2021, BREAKING 450 BILLION DOLLARS.EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS THE MAIN REASON FOR PROMOTING THE GROWTH OF TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA. UNDER THE EPIDEMIC, THE DEEPENING OF TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA REFLECTS THE STRONG COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES.THE TOTAL AMOUNT HAS REACHED A NEW HIGHIN 2021, CHINA WILL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN ITS POSITION AS THE SECOND LARGEST TRADING PARTNER IN LATIN AMERICA. ACCORDING TO DATA RELEASED BY THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS OF CHINA, THE TOTAL IMPORT AND EXPORT VOLUME BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA IN 2021 WAS APPROXIMATELY 451.591 BILLION US DOLLARS, AN INCREASE OF 41.1% COMPARED TO 2020.YUE YUNXIA, DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH OFFICE AT THE LATIN AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, ANALYZED THAT CHINA LATIN AMERICA TRADE HAS SHOWN OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN 2021. IN THE REGIONAL SECTORS COUNTED BY THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, CHINA'S TOTAL IMPORT AND EXPORT VOLUME AND EXPORT VOLUME TO LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES HAVE INCREASED BY ******.PROFESSOR MAYA ALVISA FROM THE INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SALVADOR IN ARGENTINA BELIEVES THAT THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN LATIN AMERICA AND CHINA IN 2021 IS DUE TO CHINA'S EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF THE EPIDEMIC, MAKING CHINA THE "MOST ACTIVE ECONOMIC AND TRADE PARTNER".JOS É MAURO DELIRA, A PROFESSOR AT THE ARMANDO ALVAREZ PONTIADO FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY, POINTED OUT THAT IN THE FACE OF THE PANDEMIC, CHINA WAS THE FIRST TO RECOVER ITS ECONOMY, SERVING AS A "SUPPORT AND STABILIZER" FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY AND AN IMPORTANT TRADING PARTNER FOR MAJOR LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMIES SUCH AS BRAZIL.COMPLEMENTARITY PROMOTES WIN-WIN OUTCOMESIN RECENT YEARS, CHILE HAS BECOME A MAJOR SOURCE OF IMPORTED FRUITS FOR CHINA, WITH CHERRIES, PLUMS, AND PEACHES BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR AMONG CHINESE CONSUMERS. ON THE OTHER HAND, IN MID JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, THE FIRST BATCH OF KIWIFRUIT PRODUCED IN CHINA ARRIVED IN CHILE, FILLING THE GAP IN THE CHILEAN SUMMER FRUIT MARKET.THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MARKET IS JUST A MICROCOSM OF THE COMPLEMENTARY AND WIN-WIN ECONOMIC AND TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA. ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS OF CHINA, EXPORTS FROM LATIN AMERICA TO CHINA AMOUNTED TO APPROXIMATELY 222.582 BILLION US DOLLARS IN 2021, AN INCREASE OF 31.4% COMPARED TO 2020. YUE YUNXIA SAID THAT THE GROWTH IS PARTLY DUE TO THE INCREASE IN THE QUANTITY OF AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL PRODUCTS IMPORTED BY CHINA FROM LATIN AMERICA, AND PARTLY DUE TO THE RISE IN COMMODITY PRICES.THE DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT CHINA'S TOTAL EXPORTS TO LATIN AMERICA IN 2021 WERE ABOUT 229.09 BILLION US DOLLARS, AN INCREASE OF 52.0% COMPARED TO 2020. YUE YUNXIA ANALYZED THAT ON THE ONE HAND, THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR AND THE LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR BORN UNDER THE EPIDEMIC HAVE PROMOTED CHINA'S EXPORT GROWTH TO LATIN AMERICA; ON THE OTHER HAND, THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN LATIN AMERICA IS SLOWING DOWN, REGIONAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS INCREASING, AND CONSUMER SPENDING IS REBOUNDING. ON THE BASIS OF MAINTAINING STABILITY IN CHINA'S SUPPLY CHAIN, TRADITIONAL CHINESE MANUFACTURED GOODS SUCH AS AUTOMOBILES AND ELECTROMECHANICAL PRODUCTS ARE ALSO SHOWING AN UPWARD TREND IN EXPORTS TO LATIN AMERICA.ZHOU MI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, SAID: "AS THE MOST STABLE SUPPLIER IN THE WORLD, CHINA CAN MEET THE DEMAND FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS, CONSUMER GOODS, DISINFECTION AND STERILIZATION PROTECTIVE PRODUCTS AND DRUGS IN LATIN AMERICA UNDER THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY." HE BELIEVED THAT THIS SHOWS THAT CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA CAN EFFECTIVELY USE THEIR RESPECTIVE ADVANTAGES TO CARRY OUT MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL TRADE COOPERATION.THE PROSPECTS ARE STILL PROMISINGAT THE END OF 2021, THE VARIANT COVID-19 OMIKRON STRAIN APPEARED, AND THE EPIDEMIC SITUATION BECAME TIGHTER, BRINGING MORE CHALLENGES TO LATIN AMERICA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN 2022. THE WORLD BANK AND THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN HAVE BOTH RECENTLY LOWERED THEIR ECONOMIC GROWTH EXPECTATIONS FOR LATIN AMERICA IN 2022. NEVERTHELESS, EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THE PROSPECTS FOR ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA ARE STILL WORTH LOOKING FORWARD TO.YUE YUNXIA BELIEVES THAT ALTHOUGH THE LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMY IS FACING UNCERTAINTY, THE CHINESE MARKET IS HUGE AND THE FUNDAMENTAL DEMAND FOR LATIN AMERICA WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST.THERE IS STILL GREAT POTENTIAL FOR TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND BRAZIL, "SAID LI JIA DUTRA, HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF THE BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY FEDERATION." IN ORDER TO EXPAND EXPORTS TO CHINA, MORE AND MORE BRAZILIAN RURAL PRODUCERS WILL JOIN THE CHINA BRAZIL TRADE. THE AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY FEDERATION WILL ALSO USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY PRODUCTS AND EXPAND TRADE CHANNELS BY CREATING E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS.IN ADDITION, THE EPIDEMIC HAS INCREASED THE POSSIBILITY OF COOPERATION IN ONLINE SERVICE TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES. YUE YUNXIA SAID THAT CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DEVELOP NEW TYPES OF SERVICE TRADE SUCH AS TELEMEDICINE AND DISTANCE EDUCATION. IN THE FUTURE, AS THE EPIDEMIC GRADUALLY GETS UNDER CONTROL, TRADITIONAL TOURISM AND OTHER SERVICE INDUSTRIES WILL GRADUALLY RECOVER, WHICH WILL FURTHER PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA LATIN AMERICA TRADE.