Santa Cruz, June 16 (Mercopress-RHC) -- The summit of G-77 leaders plus China that wrapped up in Santa Cruz over the weekend, also marked the presence of Beijing which has become the leading trade partner of many Latin American countries.

The summit ended with a call for an end to poverty by 2030, after a demand by Bolivia's President Evo Morales to eliminate the UN Security Council.

The accord, largely ironed out in advance in New York by the 133 members, also set goals for sustainable development and national sovereignty over natural resources -- a key concern for China, the world's second-biggest economy and with increasing influence in Latin America.

Evo Morales, the group's current president, called for “eliminating world hierarchies.” He said: “The UN Security Council should be eliminated because it has encouraged wars and invasions by imperial powers to appropriate natural resources of invaded countries.” He also called for “replacing financial institutions like the IMF.”

China, which is not a G-77 member, was participating in the summit partly to affirm its expanding trade ties in the region, although President Xi Jinping was not in attendance and was represented by Chen Zhu, a vice chairman of China's National People's Congress.

The summit marked the 50th anniversary of the group's founding. It has grown from 77 developing countries 50 years ago to 133 countries today.