CHINA and Latin American countries are likely to find opportunities for deeper cooperation amid the new Trump administration's protectionist tendencies, experts said on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit in Lima, reports Caixin.

They highlighted key areas for potential collaboration could include mining, manufacturing, new energy, agriculture, digitisation and artificial intelligence.

Despite rising protectionism, many Chinese companies remain eager to expand overseas and are confident about learning to navigate the global market, Ning Gaoning, chairman of APEC Business Advisory Council's sustainable growth working group, told a Caixin roundtable

Mr Ning, a former chairman of Chinese oil and chemicals giant Sinochem, used the Chancay Port project, a US$1.3 billion deepwater port in Peru developed by China's Cosco Shipping, as an example of strategic investment.

The project, which is set to begin operations soon, will cut the time it takes to send sea freight between South America and Asia from 45 days to 23 and is poised to make Peru a logistics hub, according to Xinhua.