LIMA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The executives taking part in the third Business Summit of the Americas in Lima highlighted Thursday the role China plays in trade ties with Latin America and the rest of the world.

"China is a global player," said Alberto Aleman Zubieta, director of the Panamanian consortium ABCO Global.

"The interests of China, Europe, North America and our region will continue to play an important role in the development of infrastructure and trade. It is beneficial," he told Xinhua at the business summit.

Zubieta, who ran the Panama Canal for more than 16 years, also said his country has played an important role in trade ties between the Americas and Asia.

Through the connectivity of the Panama Canal, "we have a huge opportunity if we learn to connect, to integrate," he added.

Speaking of the protectionist measures touted by U.S. President Donald Trump, Zubieta said Latin American countries are clearly behind the positive trend of integration.

"Being isolated does not help you grow and is only to your disadvantage. We must compete as a bloc, we need integration," he pointed out, adding that there is still much room for Latin America to become an important region at the global level.

For example, he said, when a company opens in Panama, it is not only accessing a market of 4 million people, but of 700 million potential customers.

"We do better when we are integrated than when we are divided," added Zubieta.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), trade between China and the region reached 266 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. China has also made direct investments in the region worth a cumulative 115 billion U.S. dollars.

Oscar Rivera, president of Peru's banking association, pointed out that the next stage of economic development required cutting-edge technologies.

"This is a globalized world where we must consider technology and innovation, everything needed to improve products and make them competitive," he said.

According to Rivera, if Latin America wants to expand trade ties with China and Asia, its countries must invest in technology to improve productivity.

"This allows us, in the case of Peru, to continue exporting products to various Asian countries, including China," he said.

The Business Summit of the Americas was opened on Thursday. The event serves as a preamble to the eighth Summit of the Americas, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with the theme of Democratic Governance against Corruption. Enditem