PUNTS DEL ESTE, Uruguay, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 11th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (China-LAC) Business Summit in Punta del Este, Uruguay, is expected to build bridges in bilateral business cooperation with business owners from both sides keen to open up new markets.
On Saturday, business representatives in such fields as manufacturing, agribusiness, as well as banking and financial services, gathered at the city's convention center to promote cooperation.
"Beyond the small language barrier, I believe there is a kind of universal language of doing business," Cao Li of China's Chongqing City Baisiji Trade Co., told Xinhua.
The company, which designs and develops motorcycle cylinders, "is today doing business with Colombia. This event is a very good gateway to connecting with other Latin American countries," said Cao.
Among the service companies at the China-LAC business meetings were law firms such as Olivera Abogados, which provides national and international companies in Uruguay with services in banking, finance, trade and legal aid in general.
The summit offers a valuable chance to expand business ties with China, said Juan Martin Olivera, business partner of the law firm.
"It is a very important opportunity for Chinese and Latin American companies to get closer in a setting that generates a lot of synergy, and often the chance to break through not just cultural and language barriers, but also barriers in the way you do business," Olivera noted.
Participants were able to "gather and exchange ideas... It's a great opportunity to be able to show Chinese companies how we can work together to knock down the barriers erected by legal systems," Olivera added.
Started in 2007 as an annual gathering, the summit is jointly organized by China's Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with input this year from Uruguay XXI, the South American country's export promotion agency.
Reflecting growing biregional ties, Antonio Carambula, head of Uruguay XXI, said this year's event was the largest ever.
"It's the largest China-LAC summit held in Latin America," he said, adding that "attendance was great with lots of companies registering."
According to the latest figures, the event drew 604 Chinese business leaders, 760 Uruguayan businesses and 836 companies from other parts of Latin America.
In addition, "Many cooperation-agreements were signed between various Chinese provinces and Latin American countries," said Carambula.
