China: Latin business boom

BOOMING LATIN TRADE

Peru is not the only country boosting its trade with China. Across the region, trade is growing by double-digits and even triple-digits in several cases. Total trade between China and Latin America reached a record $102.6 billion last year, an increase of 46.2 percent from 2006. Three nations alone – Brazil, Mexico and Chile – account for nearly 60 percent of that total, our analysis shows. In Chile, China last year replaced the United States as the country’s top export market. Chile’s exports to China in 2007 were 17.9 percent higher than those to the United States, according to government agency ProChile.

Unlike the United States, Latin America has a minor trade deficit with China. In fact, five of Latin America’s top seven economies – including Brazil and Argentina - last year posted a surplus in trade with China, according to the Latin Business Chronicle analysis. Also Costa Rica, the second-largest economy in Central America and China’s largest trade partner in that region, posted a surplus.

(Editor: Emily)