SHANGHAI -- A forum on legal cooperation between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was held in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The first China-CELAC Legal Forum has brought together representatives from 18 countries, including China, Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil and Chile.

The forum has focused on strengthening legal cooperation between China and CELAC countries. Stressing that legal collaboration is an important part of China-CELAC relations, it called for deeper engagement in the field to support the development of China-CELAC relations in the new era.

The forum will explore legal cooperation between the two sides in such key areas as the digital economy, technological innovation, finance, trade, investment, and climate-related issues.

"As a driving force in global development, a modernizing China will bring greater benefits to people worldwide, including those in Latin America and the Caribbean countries," said Wang Hongxiang, secretary of the leading Party member's group of the China Law Society (CLS).

Carmen Eneida Alves, Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, expressed hope for stronger cooperation between Chinese and CELAC legal experts.

Alves said that strengthening legal frameworks and governance is more urgent than ever in a more intertwined and complex world of today, adding that collaboration between China and CELAC members offers a unique opportunity to drive economic growth, attract investment and enhance trade.

Sponsored by the CLS, the forum was co-hosted by the China-Latin America Legal Research Center (Shanghai), the Law School of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) and the Chinese Modernization Institute at SUFE.