(Transcript – Council of State)

Honorable Dilma Rousseff, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil;

Esteemed comrade Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China;

Honorable Luis Guillermo Solís, CELAC president pro tempore;

Esteemed heads of state and government:

I thank the authorities and people of Brazil for their warm welcome and the excellent facilities made available to us.

I likewise wish to thank President Xi Jinping for his presence, making possible this meeting, which constitutes a clear demonstration of the political will of our countries to consolidate dialogue and cooperation between China, Latin America and the Caribbean. I consider of great importance the five proposals just presented by Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.

The decision made at the 2nd CELAC Summit, held in Havana January 28-29, 2014, to create a CELAC-China forum provided a practical channel for efforts directed toward supporting work by Latin American and Caribbean countries and China to confront the difficult conditions in the world today, and promote our mutual development.

The broadening of our relations will allow us to maintain a regular bilateral dialogue on principal international problems, to defend the interests of the South, and advance ambitious cooperation projects, trade, investment and financial relations, with a strong component of science, technology and innovation, emphasizing the development of our human resources.

The Fortaleza Declaration, adopted by the recent Summit of the group comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is of great importance to all of us. We salute your commitment to a just, equitable international order, based on the United Nations Charter, as well as your decision to promote cooperation, solidarity, multilateralism, peace, security, economic and social progress, and sustainable development, focused on the elimination of poverty.

The creation of a Development Bank and a Common Currency Reserves Fund constitutes a significant contribution to a more inclusive international financial system.

The economic and social development of Latin America, the Caribbean and China offer extraordinary potential for the expansion of mutually beneficial ties. Our sister Caribbean countries require special attention in this effort.

The small scale of their economies, the particular vulnerabilities they face, the characteristics of their productive and export base, and the devastating effects of regular hurricanes which tend to hit several countries simultaneously - to which must be added the growing threat of climate change - make imperative that these countries, which in their majority are unfairly categorized as medium income, receive cooperation, trade and investment under preferential conditions, from both Latin America and China.

The first victorious revolution of slaves in the history of humanity took place in Haiti, and later contributed to the independence of Latin America. We all now feel the urgent need to contribute to Haiti’s development, to overcome the historic consequences of the plunder and natural disasters to which the country has been subjected.

The great Asian country is today the world’s second largest economy, and the principal exporter of goods. Its solid economic growth has supported increases in the prices of raw materials and other exports from Latin American and Caribbean economies. Today, China receives 8% of the region’s exports and supplies 14% of its imports.

Latin American and Caribbean countries which possess a significant portion of all mineral reserves, the second largest oil reserves, and a third of the world’s fresh water supply, face the challenge of industrializing our resources and agriculture, to increase and diversify exports, in particular goods with greater added value, to establish a better balance of trade, in which relations with the People’s Republic of China can play an important role.

In our case, more than half a century of interchange with this country has allowed us to advance in the development of an exemplary relationship, which has stood the test of time.

The close ties of friendship existent between the two countries have undoubtedly been reflected in the multiple cooperative and commercial projects undertaken, many of which with significant social impact.

Today, our invitation is to continue working together to promote relations between the two parties, based on respect, equality and mutual benefit.