Alpaca toys are on display at the booth of Warmpaca during the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) in East China's Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

China and Latin America have all along prioritized major livelihood projects in their cooperation and also implemented a good number of small and beautiful livelihood projects in Latin America, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Wednesday, pledging ongoing commitment to focus on people's livelihood and deliver a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness to the peoples of both sides.

The remarks were made by the FM spokesperson Lin Jian, in response to a media question about Peruvian craftsman Oswaldo Mamani, who, in a media interview, said that China is a blessing for himself and his fellow villagers because the country enabled them to earn more income and live a better life.

At the just-concluded China International Import Expo (CIIE), alpaca toys made by Mamani became one of the highlights and were highly popular with Chinese consumers. This year marks the seventh consecutive year that the Peruvian brand Warmpaca (meaning "warm alpaca") has appeared at the expo, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Lin noted "We also heard about the story of Peruvian craftsman Oswaldo Mamani. The cute alpaca wool products enchanted many Chinese consumers and are a best seller at the CIIE."

Mamani once only had a one-story workshop with annual sales of a little over 100 items. Now the workshop occupies three stories and hundreds of craftsmen joined him to earn more income, Lin said.

"As they said, China, the country 'on the other side of the world,' completely changed their life," Lin noted.

Lin added that China and Latin America have all along prioritized major livelihood projects in their cooperation. The list of uplifting and touching stories such as "Warmpaca" goes on and on. The Belo Monte UHV transmission project which creates an "electricity expressway" linking north and south of Brazil has not only provided adequate power to industrial hubs there but also solved the power shortage problem for over 22 million Brazilians. 

China also implemented a good number of small and beautiful livelihood projects in Latin America. For example, China-aided water supply projects in two cities of Costa Rica have given nearly 40 thousand local people access to safe drinking water, and jumpstarted the local economy that was stymied for years due to water pollution, Li said.

China will follow the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, focus on people's livelihood, a priority in its relations with Latin America, continue to enhance solidarity and cooperation with Latin American countries and deliver a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness to the peoples of both sides, according to Lin.

China has been Peru's largest trading partner and largest export market for ten consecutive years. The negotiations for the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement upgrade were substantially completed in June this year. 

The Chinese market is shared by the world. The high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Latin America will further facilitate exchanges that span a hemisphere, and Latin American and Caribbean countries will find new opportunities and achieve new development in the Chinese market, Mao Ning, another FM spokesperson, told a press conference on November 6.

Global Times