Sowing strategic alliances in the Americas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of increasing trade and investment relations between China and Latin American economies. The paper focuses on the threats and opportunities that permeate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The paper surveys existing literature and secondary data in Spanish, Portuguese, and in English to investigate the different ramifications of this dynamic relationship between China and Latin American economies. Findings – After analyzing trade and investment trends and data, it is clear that Latin American economies must make changes to increase their participation in the Chinese market. Direct involvement with China is inherently risky, however, the opportunities obviously make the alliance necessary. Latin American economies are under increasing pressure to revamp their business environments and to implement long‐term strategies in order to compete more efficiently with China, domestically and in third‐markets. China has showed Latin American economies that investments in education, R&D, innovation, infrastructure, and friendly business policies, both facilitate and foster the creation of new competitive advantages. Originality/value – This paper highlights and contributes to a better understanding of the ongoing challenges and opportunities permeating the Chinese Latin America's trade and investment relationship, as well as a indicating a number of areas for further study.