The China Factor In The Development Of Latin America:2001-2015

Economic relations between China and Latin America have grown exponentially,especially after China became member of the WTO in December,2001.China has already become the second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean.During 2000-2014,this region's exports to China increased from 1%to 9%,and imports from 2%to 16%.In these past years,the Chinese demand for raw materials were the driving force for China and boosted a rapid trade growth between both partners.However,this rapid increase of commercial trade with China has arouse different opinions over the years,leading to theories such as "the China's rise" and "the China threat",been the last one especially welcomed in the United States.Unites States plays an important role in the region,in both economic and political aspects.The triangular relationship among Latin America,China and The United States has received attention after 2001;its importance has dramatically growth that sometimes is considered the "four member" in the NAFTA(North America Free Trade Agreement),for example.In international literature,this topic has not been explored enough,and most of times researches centre around the discussions on whether China would challenge United States' leadership in Latin America.Since this region is highly dependent on Unites Stated,it is generally inserted into the relationship of power between these two countries,ignoring the region's particularities.This research is an attempt to highlight-from a Latin American perspective-the direct or indirect regional changes that Chinese activities have caused in the region.The following are the three main aspects of this thesis:Firstly,Sino-Mexican Relation is probably the most challenging mostly due to trade deficit between them,Mexico is not a raw materials exporter such as Brazil or Argentina,and its trade structure competes against the Chinese one in third markets.Secondly,there is no a high degree of interdependence among Latin American countries,not even close to 20%.This level is far from the 50%of interdependence in countries members of NAFTA and ANSEA.Due to this reason,trade with China has easily replaced some of the goods that were imported from other Latin American countries,such as in Brazil and Argentina.However,it seems that Latin American countries have not yet been able to respond to this trend.Thirdly,the impact of Chinese activities is not only economic but also political.Brazil is the best example of this.Brazil started promoting South America integration and cooperation through the establishment of the South American Common Market at the end of the past century.By doing this,it became one of the pillars of the region and helped it to achieve its foreign policy goals.Later,Brazil committed to a tight commercial relation with China,which let it gain broader international recognition and become an "hegemon by consensus".The above examples of course cannot be said to be completely cause by China,but it has certainly played an important role in the development of the Latin American region.