Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Latin America, highly anticipated for a raft of business deals, is expected to put China’s cooperation with the region on firm footing.

Li, making his first Latin America visit since taking office as Premier, arrived in Brasilia on May 18 for the first leg of his four-nation tour that will also take him to Colombia, Peru and Chile through May 26.

The four countries are China’s closest economic and trade partners in Latin America, accounting for 57 percent of China’s total trade with the region in 2014. Brazil is China’s largest trading partner in Latin America. Chile and Peru have free trade pacts with China while Colombia and China are also looking at reaching an agreement.