Rivals and Partners?

Abstract

Western societies, their leaders and opinion formers still have difficulty coming to terms with China’s extraordinary and rapid rise as a global power. Their lack of familiarity with China’s centralised and Communist-led political and economic system is one reason for this.

Though China and Latin America and the Caribbean are far from each other, the two peoples enjoy a time-honoured friendship. The two sides are at a similar stage of development … To enhance solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries is the cornerstone of China’s independent foreign policy of peace. The Chinese government views its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean from a strategic plane and seeks to build and develop a comprehensive and cooperative partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common development with Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Extracts from sections II and III of China’s Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean (2008) – printed in full as Appendix 1.

If every Chinese person eats a banana from Ecuador each day, then our foreign relations problems will be solved.

President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador at the start of a state visit to China, March 2002(Agence France Presse, 2009)