A strategic agenda for the Sino-South America relationship under China’s “new normal”

This article analyzes from a strategic approach the relationship between South America and China, focusing on the current reform process in the largest Asian economy and its possible impacts on South American countries. It discusses the many changes that the Chinese economy has gone through in recent decades and also its most recent trends, characterized by a new era of slower growth, the so-called Chinese "new normal". Based on this perspective, the article studies China´s evolving relationship with Latin America, especially South America, and focuses on a closer examination of the Sino-Brazilian relationship as a case study to derive proposals for a strategic agenda for the coming years. After a brief introduction, the evolution of the economic and trade relations between China and South America in the first decade of the XXI century is analyzed. Another section discusses the current structural changes that the Chinese economy is facing under its reform process and its impacts on South America. The fourth part specifically studies the relationship between Brazil and China in the last years, as a case study to better understand the growing importance of China for South American countries. Finally, section five presents the concluding remarks.