CCTV9英语新闻：China-CELAC Forum begins in Beijing on Thursday

Beijing is to play host to a ministerial meeting between officials from China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC. The two-day forum¹ will begin on Thursday.

 

A dialogue across continents. The first China-CELAC forum will bring together ministers and delegates to map overall guidelines for cooperation.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak at the opening ceremony. Costa Rican President, Luis Guillermo Solis; Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa Delgado; Bahamas' Prime Minister, Perry Christie; and Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro Moros will also attend.

 

It will be followed by the ministerial-level forum in the afternoon.

 

On Friday morning, Premier² Li is expected to meet with all delegates. The outcomes from the dialogues will be announced in a press conference by the Chinese and Costa Rican foreign ministers.

 

Over 40 ministers from 30 of the CELAC countries have confirmed their attendance.

 

"The main priority is to carry out the concensus reached by President Xi and the Latin American countries during Xi's trip there in July. Therefore it's necessary to sit down and discuss guiding principles, key areas of cooperation and the establishment of relevant mechanisms³ to continue cooperation in the long term" Zhu Qingqiao, deputy director of Dept. Of Latin American Affairs, Foreign Ministry⁴, said.

 

Bilateral⁵ trade volume in 2013 reached over 260 billion US dollars. President Xi's visit extended cooperation beyond traditional areas, with over 150 agreements, in sectors⁶ such as finance and investment.

 

The forum takes the theme "New Platform, New Starting Point, New Opportunity" and aims to further boost cooperation.

 

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States was created in 2011. It is a regional bloc⁷ for Latin American and the Caribbean. It consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americas and represents roughly 600 million people.

 

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。