For the complete report in the Economist.com click on this link
Latin America and the world: Growing energy nexus
In 2005 Latin America sent 47% of its total exports to the US, 14% to the EU and just 4% to China. Accordingly, even if China fulfils its pledge of US$100bn investment into the region by 2010, it will still wield considerably less economic influence than the US.
Chinese policy towards Latin America is essentially pragmatic: it is willing to use socialist rhetoric if this facilitates the winning of contracts, but it does not base contracts on ideological affinity. Equally pragmatic is its approach to the potential triangulation of relations between the US, Latin America and China. China is well aware of the US's traditional hegemony in the region, and will be wary of being perceived as a regional challenger. Although China is not averse to strengthening links in Latin America, it does not consider the region valuable enough to risk provoking a clash with the US. It will therefore be reluctant to offer political support to its Latin American allies when this runs too contrary to US interests. This reduces the extent to which countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador can hope to use their new alliances with China to counterbalance US influence in the region.
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