China aims to cooperate closely with Latin American and Caribbean countries on industrial capacity production, infrastructure and financing, Premier Li said during his visit to Chile on May 25.

He made the comments during a meeting in Santiago with Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Li said that trade between China and Latin American countries has surged in the last decade, and China has become the region’s second-largest trade partner. He added that future cooperation should give priority to industrial capacity and equipment production, infrastructure and financing.

Barcena hailed Li’s visit as the opening of a new chapter in relations between China and Latin America, and said ECLAC will continue to work with China to deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperation. She also agreed with Li’s call for greater efforts concerning capacity production, saying that cooperation with China should not only involve an exchange of merchandise, it should also advance to the financial and infrastructure sectors.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet also took part in the meeting.