People's Republic of China and Latin America and the Caribbean: ushering in a new era in the economic and trade relationship

This document focuses on recent developments in trade between China and the Latin American and Caribbean region with respect to countries, sectors and goods, as well as Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region. Attention is drawn to the important role China has played in the past few years as an importer of products from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly in the context of the general slowdown of the region's exports during 2009. The analysis also confirms the essentially inter-industrial relationship between China and the region, which is based on China exporting manufactured goods and Latin America and the Caribbean exporting raw materials. This complicates not only potential business alliances between China and Latin America but also efforts to integrate the region's countries more effectively into Asia-Pacific production chains, which are organized along more intra-industrial lines.