SANTIAGO - Stepped up dialogue and cooperation between Latin America and China help establish a new world order, said Fernando Reyes Matta, Chile's former ambassador to China, on Thursday.

The first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) marks "a step in the establishment of a new world order," Reyes told Xinhua in an interview, referring to the two-day meeting that opened in Beijing on Thursday.

The forum is part of the process of building a new global order based on "shared interests," but within "a framework of diversity, " Reyes said in Santiago, capital of Chile, where he serves as director of the Center for Latin American Studies on China.

"Latin America and China face similar challenges in many aspects," said Reyes, mentioning "new middle classes, new social demands and changes in systems of production" among others.

The Latin America-China ties now need to progress "beyond the diversity of bilateral interests," he added.

It is essential for CELAC to understand China's new stage of economic development, "with lower growth than in the past, but with more consolidation and stability in emerging sectors that are creating a new dynamic," said Reyes.

This stage offers new opportunities and a key for Latin America to discover China's "new normal," he noted.

The China-CELAC Forum was established during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Latin America in July 2014.

The major outcome of the ongoing meeting is expected to include a five-year cooperation plan, a Beijing Declaration and the Regulations on China-CELAC Forum.

Established in December 2011 in Venezuela, the 33-member CELAC comprises all South American countries and some Caribbean states plus Mexico.