Youth encounter in Jiangsu. PL Photo.

Jiangsu, China, Oct. 24 (RHC)-- Young Cuban diplomats and students learned first-hand about China's rural development experiences during a tour organized as part of the Training and Exchange Camp for Latin American youth leaders held in Jiangsu, China.

The program, sponsored by the Central School of the Communist Youth League (JCL) of China, allowed representatives from  Mexico, Argentina and Antigua, and Barbuda to visit the village of Yonglian in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

The town is recognized as an example of implementing the reform and opening-up policy and the fight against poverty.

Located in the Yangtze River basin, Yonglian was decades ago one of the poorest areas in the region.

However, the economic changes implemented since 1978 brought development to the village, which today is one of the wealthiest communities thanks to its activities in agriculture, fishing, tourism, and the steel industry with the establishment of a factory that exports to more than 100 countries in the world.

The program also included tours of Yuelai Village, which has a major resettlement program for people from impoverished sites, and the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone and Technology Science Park, home to more than 100 companies involved in smart manufacturing,  green energy, medicine, and biotechnology.

The training and exchange camp for Latin American youth leaders, organized by LCJ, seeks to strengthen relations between the younger generation of China and Latin America and the Caribbean to contribute to greater understanding and cooperation between the two sides.