Latin America and the new core-periphery relationship with China.

The restructuring of the world economy

Abstract

The article analyses the economic relations between China and Latin America from the perspective of the world capitalist political economy, applying Polanyi's interpretation of the great transformation in world history. The contemporary evolution of capitalism has been characterized by the extraordinary and rapid economic growth of China, whose economic relations with the region are characterized by a paradoxically harmonious exchange, as each part exports to the other those products in which it has specialized (technology intensive goods versus primary goods and commodities). This relationship has resulted in a core-periphery economic structure and has led Latin America to a new stage of productive specialization in primary exports. After demonstrating the existence of this core-periphery relationship, based on the analysis of statistical data and recent research, the text offers an explanation and interpretation of this core-periphery morphology and presents a diagnosis on the evolution and perspectives of these bilateral relations, presenting seven arguments that describe a complex and difficult economic scenario for Latin America.