Nicaraguan Minister of Transport and Infrastructure óscar Salvador Mojica Obregón said, as a major country in innovation, infrastructure and science and technology, China is committed to mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean to promote economic recovery. Under the new international order through CELAC, which includes 33 countries, China's BRI continues to promote cooperation in infrastructure, science and technology innovation.

The BRI, which actively promotes trade, investment and infrastructure development through economic corridors and sea routes, is currently joined by 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, he added.

Professor Alessandro Golombiewski Teixeira at School of Public Policy & Management of Tsinghua University said in recent years, Latin America's cooperation in infrastructure has grown exponentially, and Chinese companies have undertaken projects worth over $160 billion in Latin America. "As we continue to develop and expand our partnerships, we must also focus on paving the path towards a more sustainable and digitally advanced future," he said.

Green transformation, as a concept, is more than an environmental initiative, and China has always advocated for a green and low-carbon economy, Teixeira said, citing the China-LAC Joint Wind Farm Project in northern Chile as a hallmark of our sustainable collaborations. This project, when completed, will generate over 200MW of clean, renewable energy, enough to power over 150,000 households. More importantly, it will significantly reduce carbon emissions, equivalent to removing more than 90,000 cars from the road each year.

The event, which serves as a platform for the global infrastructure industry to explore opportunities for co-operation on sustainable development, is co-organized by the China International Contractors Association and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.

This year's IIICF is drawing more than 3,000 guests, more than doubling the figure in 2022, including ministerial-level officials, senior executives of financial institutions, international contractors, organizations, business associations and supply chain enterprises.

Florence Li in Macao contributed to this report.