China Making Latin American Business Moves

Interesting post over at the China Rises: Notes From the Middle Kingdom Blog, entitled, "On Growing Sino-Latin Trade Ties," on increasing economic ties between China and Latin America.  The writer of the China Rises Blog, Tim Johnson, was a reporter/editor in Latin America for fourteen years, before moving to China to head up McClatchy's (formerly Knight Ridder) Beijing news bureau so we can assume he knows whereof he speaks:

According to the Business Times newspaper, the bilateral trade volume between China and Latin American countries has jumped to $50.5 billion in 2005 from $8.3 billion in 1999. That's even more than China's much vaunted trade with Africa.

The newspaper cites a recent report of the Commerce Department of China saying Latin America has surpassed Asia as the biggest investment destination for Chinese companies.

i find it interesting how many times Chinese lawyers with whom we work ask us about doing business with Mexico and other places in Latin America.  It seems that their Chinese clients are at least as focused on entering into Latin America than the United States.  Indeed, many of them talk about setting up assembly operations in Latin America to ship their product to the United States while avoiding any potentially punitive United States tariffs on Chinese goods. 

For more on the growing business embrace between China and Latin America, check out the following:

1.  "New economic rule set, new language in Latin America."  Thomas PM Barnett post on how Latin American businesspeople feel an increasing need to learn Mandarin.

2.  "China-Latin America Trade is Beginning to Favor China."   By Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald columnist.

3.   "China Seizes Opportunity at Cuba Summit."

4.  "Latin America-China relations."  Are China's relations with Latin America a threat to the United States?

5.   "China -- Not Just For Americans Anymore."

6.  "China's Move Into Latin America."  Are China's relations with Latin America a threat to the United States?