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1. Screenshot of The Real Point commentary
2. Graphics showing "five programs" announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech at fourth ministerial meeting of China-CELAC Forum

Beijing, China - May 14, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Quotes from The Real Point commentary

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4. Various of China National Convention Center, venue for opening ceremony of fourth ministerial meeting of China-CELAC Forum; flags of China, CELAC members, regional organizations

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5. Quotes from The Real Point commentary

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6. Opening ceremony of fourth ministerial meeting of China-CELAC Forum in progress
7. Flags
8. Various of attendees

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9. Quotes from The Real Point commentary

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10. Aerial shot of Chinese-built Ituango hydropower plant

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11. Aerial shots of container being unloaded from vessels

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12. Various of site of China-funded educational program

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13. Quotes from The Real Point commentary

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14. Ultra-High Voltage Direct Current (UATCC) Belo Monte Power Transmission Project
15. Chinese engineers working
16. Aerial shot of power transmission project

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17. Aerial shot of Chancay Port
18. Aerial shot of containers on port

The five programs announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech at the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum on Tuesday will guide China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries towards building a deeper and richer China--LAC community with shared future, according to a commentary published by a Chinese language media outlet, The Real Point, on Wednesday.

An edited English translation of the commentary is as follows:

The international community on Tuesday paid close attention to Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum in Beijing, in which Xi unveiled the five programs, ranging from solidarity, development and civilization to peace and people-to-people connectivity, to advance shared development and revitalization with LAC countries, and jointly build a China-LAC community with a shared future. His speech has been widely seen as providing strategic guidance and a long-term blueprint for the future development of China-LAC relations.

The meeting also adopted the Beijing declaration and the China-CELAC joint action plan for cooperation in key areas (2025-2027), which conveyed a unified message from China and LAC countries: a call for solidarity and cooperation in the face of global challenges. Leonardo Attuch, founder of Brasil 247, one of Brazil's largest news portals, said that the Beijing declaration will be remembered in history and that LAC is writing a new chapter in which it takes control of its own destiny.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the formal establishment of the China-CELAC Forum. Over the past decade, President Xi has paid six visits to the LAC region, personally charting the course for the development of China-LAC relations. Under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, more than 200 infrastructure projects have been implemented, generating over one million jobs. There also have been initiatives such as the China-LAC young leaders thousand-person training program, the China-LAC science and technology partnership, and the China-LAC Year of Cultural Exchange. China's "Latin America fever" and Latin America's "China fever" are meeting halfway. As President Xi said, the China-CELAC Forum has grown from a tender sapling into a towering tree.

The healthy growth of this "tree" depends on a favorable environment. At present, the global landscape is marked by complexity and volatility. Certain major powers pursue policies of "my own country first" by using tariffs as a weapon for bullying. As both have been adversely affected by such kind of practice, China and LAC countries have been reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding rules-based multilateral trading system. Against this backdrop, the convening of the ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum bears special significance. The attendance of the meeting by leaders including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and Chilean President Gabriel Boric underscores the high importance LAC countries attached to the meeting. According to Latin American news agency Prensa Latina, the meeting will enhance China-LAC solidarity and self-reliance, and has sent a message of stability amid global uncertainty.

How will the China-CELAC Forum continue to flourish in the future? How will the building of a China-LAC community with a shared future go deeper and richer? China has expressed its willingness to work together with LAC countries to implement the five programs on solidarity, development, civilization, peace and people-to-people connectivity. Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that these programs are well-structured, comprehensive and detailed, with both strategic vision and concrete measures, offering important guidance for the long-term development of China-LAC relations.

The solidarity program is placed first for good reason. It reflects the successful experience of jointly building a China-LAC community with a shared future, and responds to today's realities. In the face of unilateral hegemony, appeasement is not a way out, and only through unity can respect be earned. China has reaffirmed its willingness to continue mutual support with LAC countries on issues concerning respective core interests and major concerns, and jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law. Analysts have noted that the solidarity program not only focus on bilateral relations, but also set eyes on broader global governance, amplifying the collective voice of the Global South and promoting international fairness and justice.

On Monday, China and Brazil issued a joint statement on the Ukraine crisis, calling for direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine as well as stressing the need to address root causes so as to achieve a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement. This follows the six-point consensus released jointly by the two countries in 2024, once again demonstrating that China and LAC countries are jointly committed to contributing their wisdom and strength to solve international hotspot issues.

The development, civilization, and peace programs align respectively with China's Global Development Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative. Among them, the development program has garnered particular attention. In 2024, trade between China and LAC countries came in at 518.4 billion U.S. dollars, doubling that from a decade ago. In the future, both sides will foster greater synergy of development strategies, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and deepen collaboration in traditional sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, and energy. At the same time, they will also expand cooperation in emerging fields such as clean energy, 5G, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence. As China-LAC cooperation is becoming increasingly sci-tech driven, their relationship will grow more substantive by the day.

The Office of the President of Colombia announced on Monday that President Petro had confirmed Colombia's decision to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Guided by the joint construction of the BRI over the past decade, projects such as Mexico's Puerto Penasco solar power project, Brazil's Belo Monte UHV transmission project, and Peru's Chancay Port, a new land-sea corridor connecting Asia and Latin America, have brought tangible benefits to local populations. Ingrid Chaves, executive director at the Colombian Chinese Chamber of Investment and Commerce, said that the pragmatic cooperation between China and LAC countries generates benefits all participating countries.

As the saying goes, state-to-state relations thrive when there is friendship between the peoples. Over the past decade, China has fully delivered on its commitments to LAC countries in the areas of government scholarships and training programs. China has announced a new set of initiatives for the next three years, including 3,500 government scholarships, 10,000 training opportunities in China, 500 international Chinese language teacher scholarships, 300 poverty-reduction training slots, 1,000 "Chinese Bridge" exchange program slots, and visa-free entry for citizens of five Latin American and Caribbean countries. These initiatives reflect the growing closeness between China and LAC countries, as many in the region have hoped that "the jaguar of the Americas and the Chinese dragon will draw ever closer."

As a Chinese proverb says, "For those who share the same aspirations, no distance is too great." Standing at a new historical juncture and guided by the five programs, China and LAC countries, as partners across vast oceans, will work together to achieve development and revitalization, ensure the building of a China-LAC community with a shared future to go deeper and richer, promote the unity and cooperation among countries of the broader Global South, and inject stability and positive energy into the turbulent world.