China raises the stakes in Latin America

    Until last November, China's relationship with Latin America was undefined. But with the release of a policy paper on the region, China made it official.

    By issuing a policy paper, China for the first time demonstrated that it views Latin America from a strategic plane. Within the document, the Chinese government lays out its official stance on the region and reiterated that it seeks "a comprehensive and cooperative partnership" of equality, mutual benefit and common development with all of Latin America, including the Caribbean.

    "What we're seeing is a prioritization of Latin America as an area of the developing world where they need to pay focus and attention," said Daniel Erikson of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C.

    This move signifies that China and Latin America are beyond the courtship phase and have solidified their relationship – a relationship that focuses on trade, energy, and diplomatic recognition. 

    Jiang Shixue, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Latin American Studies in Beijing, argues the region is important to China's vision of a harmonious world, a world of peace and tolerant of national differences. "China needs to unite together with countries in all parts of the world to achieve this," he said.

    Fostering economic exchange and growth is key to this. Trade in 2007 between both regions broke a $100 billion benchmark set by President Hu Jintao in 2004. Bilateral trade for 2008 increased 39% from 2007 to over US$143 billion.