Colombian President calls for LAC countries, China to defend multilateralism

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Latin American and Caribbean states and China to defend multilateralism and safeguard shared interests during an interview in Beijing on Wednesday.

During his trip to China, Petro attended the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, where he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. In his address, he emphasized the importance of dialogue among civilizations.

In an interview with China Media Group (CMG), Petro echoed his earlier address as he stressed that dialogue should transcend national borders and power imbalances, advocating for the preservation of multilateralism.

"Just like in the works of Gabriel García Márquez, Latin America's magical realism can certainly bring the "Jaguar of the Americas" together with the "Chinese Dragon". As I said in my speech, China has put forward the Global Civilization Initiative. We, too, have long advocated for dialogue among civilizations, a concept that goes beyond dialogue between countries. It is a dialogue among peoples, cultures, and civilizations. It pushes us to transcend the traditional notion of the nation-state and move toward a new vision that recognizes humanity itself as the political subject," he said.

Márquez (1927–2014) is a Nobel laureate and Colombian writer best known for his work One Hundred Years of Solitude, a prime example of the magical realist literary style, which blends a realistic depiction of the world with fantastical or magical elements.

Petro also criticized attempts by certain powers to undermine multilateralism and called for joint action by CELAC and China to defend it.

Today, large-scale multilateral events are in decline, largely because certain powers are attempting to dismantle multilateralism and replace it with bilateral dealings defined by power imbalance. In reality, it is not about dialogue at all, but one-sided imposition. China and CELAC must stand together to defend multilateralism and to ensure that countries continue meeting, building consensus, setting joint agendas, and safeguarding shared interests," the Columbian president said.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has renewed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye.

The total value of this agreement is 35 billion yuan (about 4.88 billion U.S. dollars), or 189 billion Turkish lira, the PBOC said in a statement on its website on Friday.

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

Meanwhile, the two sides have also signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a yuan clearing arrangement in Türkiye.

These arrangements mark a new stage in China-Türkiye financial cooperation and are expected to facilitate the use of local currencies by enterprises and financial institutions of both countries for cross-border settlements, further promoting and facilitating bilateral trade and investment, the statement said.