Beyond Raw Materials

No one would have predicted in the 1990s that China would emerge as a fundamental player in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in the 21st century. The LAC-China relationship has recently advanced toward a second stage, as evidenced by the rapid expansion in the number of researchers and students working on various aspects of China-LAC relations, increasing cultural exchange, growing immigration from China to LAC, a boom in tourism, and the launching of new mechanisms for cross-regional dialogue. This book focuses on the actors in the relationship, both in LAC and in China. This analysis goes beyond established knowledge of the LAC-China relationship—particularly trade, in which LAC has become a major source of raw materials for China— to look at characteristics and features of the important actors in the bilateral relationship.