Capitalizing on the ‘China Cycle’

The Inter-American Dialogue is pleased to publish this issue brief prepared by Kevin Gallagher, associate professor of international relations at Boston University and co-author of The Dragon in the Room: China and the Future of Latin American Industrialization. An expert on economic development and trade and investment policy, Gallagher has written extensively on the economic relations between China and Latin America. Gallagher’s report, “The New Banks in Town: Chinese Finance in Latin America,” published by the Inter-American Dialogue in 2012, provided the first comprehensive summary of China’s lending practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This paper on commodities-related trends in Latin America is the second in a series of economics briefs that will be published by the Inter-American Dialogue’s China and Latin America program in coming months. China’s slowing growth, its proposed “economic transformation,” and its commitment to deeper economic integration with Latin America are changing the landscape of Sino-Latin economic engagement. Latin American nations, meanwhile, have adopted strikingly different approaches to managing China’s expanding economic influence in the region. The Dialogue’s China and Latin America economics briefs will address areas of emerging interest at this pivotal moment in China-Latin America economic relations. The first brief in this series, “China’s Free Trade Agreements in South America” by Carol Wise, was published in November. Going forward, our contributors will address such topics as China’s approaches to renminbi internationalization in Latin America, China Development Bank policy, and China’s influence on Latin American industrial policy. We are pleased to recognize Open Society Foundations for its assistance in publishing this and forthcoming China and Latin America economics briefs.