Latin America and the Caribbean
Since 2010, China has been the most important export market for South America, and the second for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as a whole. It is also among the top sources of foreign direct investment and sovereign finance. The impact of this new partner can be traced in a South American boom of agricultural and minerals commodities, as well as infrastructure construction throughout the LAC region.
This research program examines China’s impacts on LAC’s regional economies, environmental management and human development. In partnership with the Inter-American Dialogue, GCI researchers created the Chinese Loans to Latin America and the Caribbean Database to track loans from China’s two major development finance institutions, the China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China, to LAC governments and state-owned enterprises. Other research products, including the annual China-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Bulletin and working papers, explore the most important economic flows between these two regions, and the impact of this new economic partnership on LAC’s sustainable and inclusive infrastructure and investment, economic diversification and environmental governance.
Research Highlights
Latest News and Publications
-
From Resource Curse to Renewable Futures? Chinese Investment and a Just Transition in Latin America
March 16, 2026Latin America’s wealth of transition minerals positions it as a key supplier of the raw materials necessary for renewable energy generation. However, despite GDP growth due to commodity exports, past resource cycles in Latin America have resulted in environmental degradation, [ More ]
-
Can China Support a Just Energy Transition in Latin America? Policy Insights from a Working Paper Series
March 16, 2026By Julie Radomski As petroleum prices reach historic highs while solar and wind prices reach historic lows, the future of the global energy transition appears resilient. This trend continues in large part thanks to China, which leads the world in solar... [ More ]
-
China-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Bulletin, 2025 Edition
November 25, 2025In 2024, China’s relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continued to grow, especially in the emerging sectors of renewable energy, energy transition minerals and electric mobility. However, lower-technology sectors such as agriculture and mining continued to dominate trade... [ More ]
-
Five Topics to Watch at the Fourth China-CELAC Forum
May 05, 2025By Julie Radomski, Zara Albright and Rebecca Ray As Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) leaders prepare for the upcoming China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in Beijing, the meeting should be viewed less as a venue for announcing... [ More ]
-
Unmined Potential? Opportunities for Development Finance to Support Sustainability and Inclusion in Transition Mineral Supply Chains
March 04, 2025Demand for energy transition minerals (TMs) is set to expand many-fold as global investors and nations embrace the ongoing global energy transition. The task of establishing sustainable and inclusive production methods for these supply chains is an urgent one for... [ More ]
-
Around the Halls: A Year in Review and Look Ahead to 2025
December 18, 2024The most notable milestone of 2024 was the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization. This anniversary came as calls for ambitious global economic governance reforms gain momentum... [ More ]