China Tightens Grip on Latin America as Trade Relations Soar

China's leader Xi Jinping (R) attends a meeting with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 20, 2014. Jorge Silva/Reuters

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia—China’s reach within Latin America continued to expand in 2021, capping a 20-year trend of the Asian giant’s growth and influence through trade.

From 2000 to 2020, trade between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries sprouted from $12 billion to $315 billion. In 2021, bilateral exchanges grew by another 31.6 percent.