BEIJING (Reuters) – Trade between China and Latin America exceeded $500 billion for the first time last year, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.

Xi told Latin American and Caribbean officials it was a great pleasure to have “old and new” friends gather, in his speech delivered at the China-CELAC Forum summit in Beijing on Tuesday.

China supports Latin America and the Caribbean nations to expand their influence in the multilateral arena, Xi said.

(Reporting by Liz Lee, Qiaoyi Li and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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