FACILITY CONNECTIVITY——ENHANCE THE LEVEL OF INFRASTRUCTUREJOSE IS AN ORANGE FARMER IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCE OF CHUQUISACA, BOLIVIA. HE USED TO GO TO THE TOWN OF PADIA TO SELL ORANGES, AND HAD TO WALK RUGGED MOUNTAIN DIRT ROADS FOR A DAY. AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE PADIA EL SALTO HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTED BY CHINA ELECTRIC POWER CONSTRUCTION, THE LIVES OF THE LOCAL PEOPLE HAVE UNDERGONE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.THE PADIA EL SALTO HIGHWAY PROJECT IS PART OF BOLIVIA'S NATIONAL HIGHWAY NO. 6, WITH AN AVERAGE ELEVATION OF 2000 METERS. ALONG THE WAY, THERE ARE UNDULATING MOUNTAINS AND LAYERS OF PEAKS, PASSING THROUGH 11 VILLAGES. IT IS A MAIN ROAD CONNECTING THE MAJOR CITIES OF SUCRE AND SANTA CRUZ IN BOLIVIA. IN MAY OF THIS YEAR, THE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION OVERCAME THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE EPIDEMIC AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AND OPENED TO TRAFFIC. PRESIDENT BOSE PRAISED, "THE NEW HIGHWAY HAS SHORTENED THE ORIGINAL 3-HOUR DRIVE TO 30 MINUTES, BENEFITING 300000 RESIDENTS ALONG THE ROUTE, AND DOZENS OF COMMUNITIES WILL BENEFIT FROM ITIN RECENT YEARS, CHINA'S INVESTMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN HAS BEEN INCREASING YEAR BY YEAR, AND CHINESE COMPANIES HAVE HELPED LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES IMPROVE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION LEVELS, "SAID MAURICIO SANTORO, AN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SCHOLAR AT RIO STATE UNIVERSITY IN BRAZIL.ACCORDING TO STATISTICS, BETWEEN 2005 AND 2020, CHINA HAS INVESTED IN OR IS BUILDING A TOTAL OF 138 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, CREATING OVER 600000 JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE REGION. DURING THE EPIDEMIC PREVENTION AND CONTROL PERIOD, THE SCALE OF INFRASTRUCTURE COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA HAS RISEN AGAINST THE TREND, HELPING TO FILL THE GAPS IN LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE.IN BRAZIL, THE COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND PAKISTAN IN MAJOR PROJECTS SUCH AS ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES, POWER GRIDS, AND PORT DREDGING IS PROGRESSING SMOOTHLY, AND CHINA HAS BECOME ONE OF BRAZIL'S MAIN SOURCES OF OVERSEAS INVESTMENT. SAMPAIO, EXECUTIVE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFRASTRUCTURE OF BRAZIL, STATED THAT THE BILATERAL INFRASTRUCTURE COOPERATION BETWEEN BRAZIL AND CHINA HAS A GOOD FOUNDATION AND STRONG COMPLEMENTARITY. THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY IS CURRENTLY FACING CHALLENGES, AND BRAZIL IS FORMULATING NEW POST PANDEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS AND INVESTMENT POLICIES, HOPING TO ATTRACT MORE CHINESE COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF KEY LOGISTICS SYSTEM PROJECTS IN THE LOCAL AREA.ON OCTOBER 18, AT THE SECOND "THE BELT AND ROAD" ENERGY MINISTERS' MEETING, CUBA JOINED THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" ENERGY PARTNERSHIP AND WILL DEEPEN COOPERATION WITH CHINA IN WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT, STANDARDS AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING.GEORGE HE, FORMER CHILEAN AMBASSADOR TO CHINA AND PROFESSOR OF THE PADDY SCHOOL OF GLOBAL STUDIES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY, RECENTLY WROTE THAT THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" MEETS THE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF LATIN AMERICA, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY WILL HELP THE REGION IMPROVE ITS COMPETITIVENESS.SMOOTH TRADE——IMPROVE PRODUCTION AND LIVING CONDITIONSMOST OF THE AMAP Á STATE IN BRAZIL IS LOCATED IN THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND IS NOT CONNECTED TO OTHER AREAS BY INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. IT CAN ONLY RELY ON WATERWAYS AND AIR ROUTES TO CONNECT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. THE LOCALS MAINLY RELY ON FISHING AND COLLECTING ACAI BERRIES FOR THEIR LIVELIHOOD. THE CONTINUOUS INCREASE IN SOYBEAN TRADE WITH CHINA HAS BROUGHT TREMENDOUS CHANGES TO THE LOCAL AREA - OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, THE SOYBEAN PLANTING AREA IN THE STATE HAS RAPIDLY INCREASED FROM LESS THAN 2000 HECTARES TO OVER 20000 HECTARES, AND THE YIELD HAS ALSO INCREASED TO NEARLY 3000 KILOGRAMS PER HECTARE, AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 50% COMPARED TO BEFORE. SOYBEAN EXPORTS HAVE INCREASED OUR INCOME AND IMPROVED OUR PRODUCTION AND LIVING CONDITIONS, "SAID LOCAL FARMER THOMAS. IN ORDER TO SUPPORT SOYBEAN EXPORTS, THE GOVERNMENT HAS SPECIALLY REPAIRED ROADS AND PLANNED TO UPGRADE THE PORT.ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE BRAZILIAN MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, THE TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN CHINA AND BRAZIL EXCEEDED 100 BILLION US DOLLARS FROM JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR, REACHING A HISTORIC HIGH. AMONG THEM, BRAZIL'S EXPORTS TO CHINA INCREASED BY 34.1% YEAR-ON-YEAR. THE BRAZILIAN CENTRAL BANK POINTED OUT IN ITS "FOCUS SURVEY" REPORT THAT THE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION IN CHINA HAS DRIVEN BRAZIL'S EXPORTS.THANKS TO STRONG EXPORTS TO CHINA, CHILE'S FOREIGN TRADE HAS ALSO SHOWN AN UPWARD TREND THIS YEAR. IN ADDITION TO POPULAR BLUEBERRIES AND CHERRIES, CHILE HAS BEEN EXPORTING CITRUS FRUITS TO CHINA SINCE LAST YEAR. JOSE IGNACIO, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE CHILEAN CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION, STATED THAT THE RAPID GROWTH OF BILATERAL TRADE BETWEEN CHILE AND CHINA FURTHER CONFIRMS CHINA'S IMPORTANT POSITION AS CHILE'S MAJOR TRADING PARTNER. ON OCTOBER 8TH, THE "CERTIFIED ECONOMIC OPERATOR" (AEO) MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN CHINESE AND CHILEAN CUSTOMS BEGAN TO BE IMPLEMENTED, WHICH IS THE FIRST OFFICIALLY IMPLEMENTED AEO MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN CHINESE AND CHILEAN CUSTOMS IN SOUTH AMERICA. AEO COMPANIES FROM CHINA AND CHILE WILL ENJOY MULTIPLE CONVENIENCES DURING THE CUSTOMS CLEARANCE PROCESS, AND THE CLEARANCE TIME FOR GOODS IS EXPECTED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. TRADE COSTS SUCH AS PORTS, INSURANCE, AND LOGISTICS WILL ALSO BE CORRESPONDINGLY REDUCED.THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN BELIEVES THAT ASIA, ESPECIALLY CHINA, WILL BECOME THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE FOR FUTURE EXPORT GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA. THE SUSTAINED GROWTH OF CHINA'S ECONOMY AND TRADE DUE TO THE PANDEMIC FULLY REFLECTS THE ENORMOUS RESILIENCE AND POTENTIAL OF THE BILATERAL ECONOMIC AND TRADE RELATIONS.ERNESTO KALISAYA, A BOLIVIAN SOCIAL RESEARCHER, BELIEVES THAT THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" HAS SIGNIFICANTLY PROMOTED THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, WHICH IS NOT ONLY REFLECTED IN THE TRADE ACTIVITY OF COUNTRIES, BUT ALSO IN INVESTMENT, TOURISM, CULTURAL TRANSMISSION AND OTHER FIELDS.FINANCIAL FINANCING——REALIZE DIVERSIFIED FINANCING SUPPORTAT THE END OF JULY THIS YEAR, WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST FOREIGN EXCHANGE SETTLEMENT AND SALE TRANSACTION, XCMG BRAZIL BANK, THE FIRST OVERSEAS BANK IN CHINA'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, OFFICIALLY OBTAINED THE OFFICIAL LICENSE OF THE BRAZILIAN CENTRAL BANK AND WAS GRANTED A FOREIGN EXCHANGE LICENSE. FROM CRANES TO THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY, XCMG BRAZIL HAS ACHIEVED THE INTEGRATION OF INDUSTRY AND FINANCE, AND STARTED PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH SOLUTIONS OF "EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING+EQUIPMENT FINANCE".SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHINA LATIN AMERICA DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL COOPERATION MECHANISM IN 2019, POLICY BANKS FROM MULTIPLE COUNTRIES IN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA HAVE JOINED FORCES TO SUPPORT MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE COOPERATION PROJECTS BETWEEN CHINA AND LATIN AMERICA, AND PROMOTE COOPERATION IN RMB AND LATIN AMERICAN CURRENCY FINANCING. LAST AUGUST, CHINA AND ARGENTINA RENEWED THEIR CURRENCY SWAP AGREEMENT. THE ARGENTINE CENTRAL BANK STATED IN A STATEMENT THAT THE AGREEMENT WOULD HELP ARGENTINA STRENGTHEN ITS FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT TO SUPPORT TRADE AND INVESTMENT BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, PROVIDE STRONGER FINANCIAL STABILITY TO ARGENTINA, AND DEEPEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO CENTRAL BANKS.CHILE OFFICIALLY JOINED THE ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK IN JULY THIS YEAR. CHILEAN FINANCE MINISTER RODRIGO ZELDA STATED THAT MOST OF CHILE'S COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, AND JOINING AIIB PROVIDES A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILE TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, WHICH WILL ENABLE CHILE TO OBTAIN NEW IMPORTANT SOURCES OF FINANCING AND PARTICIPATE IN CONNECTIVITY PROJECTS BETWEEN THE AMERICAS AND ASIA.REINA, A PROFESSOR AT THE ASIAN STUDIES CENTER OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, BELIEVES THAT THE JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" HAS BROUGHT NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES, PROMOTED REGIONAL AND GLOBAL INVESTMENT AND TRADE FACILITATION, AND LATIN AMERICA CHINA PRACTICAL COOPERATION WILL USHER IN NEW BREAKTHROUGHS.