During his recent trip to South America for the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference leaders' meeting, President Xi Jinping laid out a vision for deeper Chinese engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the context of an increasing Asia-Pacific economic integration. This agenda is an opportunity to strengthen and expand this relationship, as our region's ties with China will be central to our future development strategies.

The timing is fortuitous, as the China-LAC relationship is entering a new phase after a decade of extraordinary growth. Trade grew by an average 31 percent a year between 2003 and 2011. China invested billions of dollars in energy, mining, infrastructure and manufacturing throughout our region. And LAC governments forged closer ties with Beijing through a host of free trade agreements, cooperation initiatives, and multilateral engagement on various issues.

This initial boom brought considerable gains for all partners. LAC saw a surge in exports that drove record growth, while China gained access to key inputs and new markets. However, trade growth has stalled amid a challenging global environment. This new scenario compels us to find new drivers, as well as to address remaining barriers to closer integration. Xi identified several areas where we should work together.