Premier Li Keqiang addresses a business summit between China and Brazil in Brasilia, capital of the Latin American country on May 19.[Photo/english.gov.cn]

Xu Shicheng, a research fellow in Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Li's proposal to get more involved in local infrastructure construction has created more business opportunities for Chinese and Brazilian corporate leaders. Xu said that compared with Africa, Latin America is more predictable in terms of government polices and business environment. In Central and Eastern Europe, where the demand for infrastructure construction and industrial capacity is also high, the need for Chinese funding is not as strong as it is in Latin America.

"Despite the current economic slowdown, I believe the fundamentals in Latin America are still good, and opportunities (outnumber) challenges for Chinese investors on the continent," he said.

zhaoyinan@chinadaily.com.cn