Abstract

Trade between South America and China has been an important source of the high growth shown by those economies in the ‘2000s. During the globalization of the ‘90s, trade between the region and China had not developed so much. A rather sharp growth in China’s presence in world trade since the beginning of the ‘2000s changed the world trade trends for MERCOSUR countries, or, at least, for many of them. The impact of the increasing trade of agrifood has been very relevant, and different per country. Strategy is another important issue, referring to bilateral relations with China. This country should be seen as a partner in the global trade, and not as a new foreign investor for the region, but this may be different in the context of different national strategies of South American countries.

JEL Classification: F14; N55; N56; O13; Q17.