China in Latin America

China's global expansion has reached Latin America and the Caribbean, where the Asian giant has been pursuing an aggressive trade policy for a decade. Besides investing heavily in the region's abundant natural resources and shipping huge quantities of cheap industrial goods into the area, China is also interested in buying Latin America's food commodities — especially soybeans. While trade with China has provided a historic bonanza for Latin producers, a growing trade imbalance — favoring China — has soured the initial euphoria. In exchange for Latin America's raw materials, China exports manufactured goods that are clobbering Latin competitors, threatening to return the region to its 1970s-era over-dependence on commodity exports. China also has emerged as a major investor — and financier — for the region, helping it to weather the 2008–09 global recession. China's sudden emergence as a significant player in the hemisphere also has sparked concern that China might eventually undermine U.S. influence and interest in the vast region — a fear that Beijing carefully tries to assuage.