China and Latin American countries have a great responsibility to explore modernization and the two sides can find common ground in independent development, common prosperity, and human-nature coexistence. This was the view of Chai Yu, general director of the Institute of Latin America of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who was speaking at the 12th high-level China-Latin America Academic Forum held in Southwest China’s Chongqing from Nov 18 to 19.

The two-day forum was organized by the ILAS, CASS and Sichuan International Studies University.

While Chinese and foreign experts gathered in Chongqing and Beijing, others joined them online for the forum, which included a seminar on the modernization experience of China and Latin American countries.

Gustavo Santillan, a professor from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, said China and Latin American countries should pursue economic models that are suitable to their conditions instead of blindly aping neoliberalism.

Marcos Cordeiro Pires, professor of political economics at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, said the Belt and Road Initiative is an important proposal for global cooperation, and China and Latin American countries should deepen cooperation to promote efforts for domestic common prosperity and bilateral trade ties, especially for Latin American countries to expand their share in the Chinese market.

At the forum, members shared their experience about modernization, and also discussed the upgrade of cooperation in green development, and economic and trade structure.