China´s Bilateral Free Trade Agreements as Strategic Alignments: Building of a Comprehensive Cooperation Network with Pragmatic Countries of the Latin American Pacific Rim

• Main Authors: Song Guoyou, Andres Borquez, Fabiola Zibetti Wust
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UNISCI 2019-06-01
• Series: Revista UNISCI
• Subjects: China; Free Trade Agreements; Preconditions; “non-traditional economic influences”; Chile; Peru; Costa Rica.
• Online Access: http://www.unisci.es/chinas-bilateral-free-trade-agreements-as-strategic-alignments-building-of-a-comprehensive-cooperation-network-with-pragmatic-countries-of-the-latin-american-pacific-rim/

This study distances itself from the approach that argues that China only exerts influence in Latin American through loans, aid and investment, since China has also established alignments that include sophisticated economic hubs. China has developed initiatives that this article calls "non-traditional economic influences" which have been established initially with pragmatic countries located in the Pacific Rim with which China has signed Free Trade Agreements (Chile, Peru and Costa Rica). In order to examine this empirical regularity, the article applies a Fuzzy-set Analysis exploring which factors are necessary and sufficient conditions for a Latin American country to sign an FTA with China. The results suggest that recognition of China as a market economy, a complementary economy with a low level of industrial competition, and a country with a high standard of regulations are conditions for signing an FTA