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Top Latin American COOs for China’s Imports in 2014
Countries of origin (COOs) ranked by % share of their exports sent to China in 2014
LATAM countries among top 100 COOs for China’s imports
Chile
Peru
Brazil
Uruguay
Colombia*
Argentina
Bolivia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Mexico*
Venezuela**
Cuba**
Share of exports going to China
24.55%
18.35%
18.04%
16.68%
10.60%
5.97%
3.55%
3.48%
2.29%
1.53%
n/a
n/a
FOB value US$ of exports going to China
18,219,663,847
6,825,646,531
40,616,107,929
1,531,193,423
5,406,412,012
4,676,425,585
300,358,414
274,648,859
731,871,976
5,568,814,098
11,289,757,348
333,081,494
China’s rank as country’s export market
2 (Brazil 1)
2 (US 1)
6 (US 1, Brazil 2)
1
1
1
3 (Brazil 1, Argentina 2)
8 (US 1, Netherlands 2)
9 (US 1, Chile 2)
3 (US 1, Canada 2)
n/a
n/a
Country’s rank among COOs for China’s imports
21
41
9
69
42
47
93
83
31
30
100
CIF Value US$
For Comparison:
US 19.90% 466,656,493,414 1 3
* Data covers January-November 2014 **Full year export data from country of origin is not available; CIF US$ value of Chinese imports is provided instead. Source: Datamyne
utilize those investments not only to the benefit of China, but to all its trading partners. In addition, Latin American and Caribbean enterprises should explore investment opportuni- ties in China.
That said, there are still major challenges looming ahead. These include the need to de-emphasize the extractive indus- tries in favor of manufacturing and other industries, as well as to increase the size of China’s investment in the region. Both of these challenges might easily be met if China begins to invest in Latin American agriculture and agribusiness. An-
other objective is the need to make Chinese investments more environmentally responsible and sustainable, especially in the extractive industries.
Far from being an 800-pound gorilla that everyone studi- ously ignores, China is acting like a responsible player on the world stage, even if the focus of its actions can be considered to be enlightened self-interest. That is, it needs much of what Latin America produces and is willing to invest handsomely in the region to improve that production and enhance the region’s ability to deliver it.
“As Latin American diplomats in China have noted, recipients of Chinese investment must take measures to ensure that China’s ‘win-win’ arrangements do not just mean China wins twice.” — Margaret Myers, Director of the China and Latin America pro- gram at Inter-American Dialogue
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