The White Paper

China's policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean and its implementation in the Action Plans of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

Abstract

In November 2008, the People's Republic of China announced a document defining the guidelines for linkages and actions of the country's policy in its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean within the framework of its foreign policy. In the 2008 White Paper, several directions for comprehensive cooperation were proposed in correspondence to the primary interests of both regions, which eight years later, in 2016, was updated. In the 2016 edition, the Asian nation highlights its strategic partner nature and guarantees the continuity of its policy towards the region in accordance with a context marked by a new global geopolitical strategy and the role of China as an emerging power. The purpose of this document is to analyze China's policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as defined in the 2016 White Paper; it is a reflection based on a literature review and documentary analysis. The findings conclude that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is the space of greater concreteness of China's foreign policy towards the region.