Latin America - China Exchanges: Soft Power and Chinatowns in Latin America
Alejandro Riberi, University of Hull (UK)
Abstract
Although the growing importance of Sino-Latin American relationship in the field of trade and diplomacy, awareness about China’s history and culture is considerably poor in Latin America. To this date there is only one institution, the School of Oriental Studies, Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, in the whole of the Spanish-speaking world that offers Oriental Studies as a path of both undergraduate and graduate study. This brief presentation address issues concerning Sino-Latin America relation. Some of these issues are concerned with the trade and the amount of discretion of both the buyer and the seller in setting the rules that govern future trade exchanges. While China can use its huge purchasing power to influence commodity markets and prices, it is often the exporter that controls the supply of increasingly indispensable raw materials. My exploration of this topic has also led into scanning synergies and cooperation in the Sino-Latin America relationship, for instance, what is the role of Chinese communities’ leaders in making connections and building partnerships vis-à-vis the growing expansion of trade in the region? What is the role played by Chinese immigrants in these processes? What is the relationship between Confucius Institutes and Chinese local communities in Latin America?