Latin American officials praise Xi's New Year address for "embodying wisdom, promoting cooperation"

Senior officials in Latin America have praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's annual New Year address on Tuesday, calling it a reflection of wisdom and a call for cooperation during interviews with China Media Group (CMG).

In the speech, Xi reviewed the country's achievements in 2024 and extended best wishes for the coming year.

Doris Alejandrina Gutierrez, the vice president of Honduras, highlighted China's progress and expressed the desire of strengthening ties with China.

"First we want to congratulate the people and Government of China led by President Xi Jinping, in relation to the significant progress they have made in political, economic, social and cultural matters, and we predict that in this year 2025 relations between our country and the People's Republic of China will be strengthened, so that we can move forward together in important actions especially in education for the improvement of the culture and welfare of our people," she said.

Fernando Reyes Matta, former Ambassador of Chile to China, hailed the wisdom of China's leadership in navigating the country through the challenging year.

"I believe that President Xi Jinping has spoken very honestly to his people when he said that this year that is ending has had major challenges, it has had obstacles, it has had complexities, but the wisdom of leadership has made possible to move forward in the midst of obstacles and unexpected challenges," he said.

Carlos Larrea, former Ambassador of Ecuador to China, noted the significance of Xi's message in advancing the objectives and tasks outlined in China's development plan.

"I have had the opportunity to listen to President Xi Jinping's New Year greetings. It is a profound message, in which he highlights China's decision to continue with the materialization of the objectives and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China," he said.

Larrea also noted that China's developments are of strategic interest to Ecuador and to the international community, as they open up prospects for quality cooperation among developing countries.

Latin American officials praise Xi's New Year address for "embodying wisdom, promoting cooperation"

The renewal of the currency swap agreement between China and Nigeria will enhance bilateral trade and help strengthen Nigeria's local economy, said a Nigerian economist.

At the end of December, China's central bank said that it had renewed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The total value of the agreement is 15 billion yuan (about 2.09 billion U.S. dollars), or 3.28 trillion Nigerian naira, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

The agreement is valid for three years and can be renewed upon mutual consent, according to the statement.

The renewed currency swap agreement allows direct naira-to-yuan payments, cutting costs and easing the financial burden for importers like Martines Tochi.

For eight years, Tochi has relied on China for the supply of electrical cables, lighting equipment, and conductors.

Like many Nigerian traders, he once faced challenges in sourcing foreign exchange to pay suppliers

"Sincerely, we've been sourcing dollars from the black market. And we have been facing serious difficulties in sourcing them. Now, you're not going to source here in Nigeria, so it's a good development, a very good development to us," said Tochi.

Economists see this renewed agreement as a pathway to further strengthen the naira and expand bilateral trade.

"That's a very good opportunity for Nigeria to increase its trade volume with China, and it's one of the things that can help also, strengthen the local economy going by the kind of materials or goods that Nigeria imports from China -- electronics, machineries, equipment and what a view, which are essential for boosting industry, for enhancing the growth of our manufacturing sector and creating jobs in Nigeria at large," said Isaac Botti, an economist.

Nigeria is China's third largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade amounting to 22.56 billion US dollars in 2023.

Renewal of currency swap deal boosts trade between China, Nigeria: economist