China and Latin America: perceptions, challenges, and opportunities

Résumé

In 1980 the collective economic output of
Latin America was seven times larger than
China’s. Now China’s economy is larger than all
of the economies in Latin America combined.
According to the International Monetary Fund,
China will overtake the United States and become the world’s largest economy in 2016. Not
only the recent economic performance and
macroeconomic indicators of China, but also of
the three other members of the acronym BRICs
contribute to a more careful consideration of
their possibilities. All of them represent large
domestic market and more likely to obtain
‘growth-led exports’ rather than ‘export-led
growth’. This condition implies a proactive role
in international relations. Latin America is a
promising strategic trade partner for China for
diversifying export destinations, and also for
safeguarding commodity import security. Besides that, with respect to trade and investment,
the availability of China as an alternative market was one factor leading Latin America away
from the Free Trade Area of the Americas trading regime oriented according to United States’
interest.