Exports: Latin America and the Caribbean

China will become an important source of growth for the LatAm region over the next decade. A diversified export pattern will help LatAm countries form a genuine strategic partnership with the world's fastest growing economy, according to a recent initiative by the Economic Commission for Latin America. Domestic policy should support industrial growth and commerce that will expand employment opportunities and contribute a wider mix of exports to the global economy.

Smaller Caribbean and African nations are often squeezed out of world trade through unfair competition and suppressed by three negative forces: debt, corruption, and aid. China provides an outlet for trade and economic growth. Despite a slowdown in China, its global resource grab has been resilient. LatAm countries should attract higher levels of Chinese investment as slower end-market demand weighs on raw commodity prices. This will provide a strategic opportunity to expand domestic growth while inefficiencies in China could influence a global quest for yield. The ECLAC initiative is an important first step.