Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin America in short hereafter) is one of the first regions in the developing world to have institutionlized party politics. Alongside their political, economic and social development in the last 30 years, most Latin American countries have seen their democracy growing stronger and party politics more dynamic. Today, there are nearly 100 political parties playing significant parts in the domestic politics and foreign relations of the region.

Development

The Communist Party of China (CPC) began to develop relations with mainly communist political parties in Latin American countries in the 1950s. As the Sino-Soviet split became more pronounced, divergence between the CPC and the communist parties of Latin America increased and bilateral exchanges trailed off, in some cases petering out completely.

Late Premier Zhou Enlai shakes hands with the visiting Member of the National Leadership and Member of the Secretariat of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution Ernesto Guevara Serna on February 8th, 1965.  [File photo]

After the Third Plenary Session of the CPC Eleventh Central Committee in 1978, the party made new adjustments to its guiding theory and principles on foreign affairs, which ushered its relations with political parties in Latin America into a new, more optimistic era. Following the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, the CPC broke the convention of communicating mainly with communist parties and extended the scope of its communication to nationalistic and democratic parties in Latin America.

In March 1979, a CPC delegation were invited to the 50th anniversary of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, marking the beginning of friendly exchanges with non-communist parties in Latin America. Meanwhile, its communications with Latin American communist parties that had been broken off for decades were resumed. Further changes occurred in the 1980s, when the CPC established contact with some right-wing and center-right parties such as the Colombian Conservative Party. Now the CPC is engaged in exchanges with ruling parties, parties in coaltions, and influential opposition parties in a bid to consolidate and expand the scope of its exchanges.

Since the beginning of the new century, the CPC has been actively developing its relations with various political parties in Latin America in order to "develop new types of party exchange and cooperative relations that will help promote state relations with willing political parties of foreign countries." As a result, its contacts and exchanges with Latin American political parties are no longer peripheral and have developed substantial importance.

As of now, the CPC is involved in ongoing and frequent friendly exchanges with 90-plus political parties and organizations in more than 30 countries in the region. It has kept in contact with such regional political party organizations as the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Socialist International Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Christian Democrat Organization of America. Party relations between China and Latin America have continued to grow in both width and depty.