There are three groups of people I would like to thank for their great assistance in this dissertation. First, I would like to express my profound appreciations to my professors. Special mention goes to professor Bruce M. Bagley who served as the chair of my dissertation committee. I thank for his interest and diligence, not only for his tremendous academic support, but also for giving me so many...

~With China’s growing influence and involvement in the international political and economic arena in recent decades,...

~This research employs a case study methodology. It examines the strategic partnerships between China and individual, specific Latin American countries pertaining to the issue of oil development. It presents a study of the four cases of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela in strategic partnerships with China. While there are eight Latin American countries engaged...

~In this chapter, a historical overview is presented to clarify China’s foreign policy under different government leaders and China’s energy policy within the framework of its foreign policy. The overview is meant to provide a retrospective of the history of China’s foreign relations with other developing countries, especially with countries in Latin...

~This part of the project presents the study of my four country cases of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela in the partnerships with China. The case analysis begins with Brazil since it is the first country in the world China recognized as a strategic partner in 1993, and because it is China’s most influential and largest trading partner in the Latin...

Brazil and China established diplomatic relations in 1974, when Brazil was still under an anticommunist military dictatorship. However, the ideological differences did not isolate the opportunities of their bilateral relations. Indeed, during the governments of Geisel and Figueiredo (1974–1985), China was...

Mexico was among one of the first Latin American countries to informally express a desire to establish diplomatic relations with the Communist China via embassies in Europe. Moreover, Mexico voted to support China’s return to the UN in October of 1971. In February of 1972, Mexico formally established a diplomatic...

In 1972, twenty-three years after the proclamation of the PRC, Argentina established diplomatic relations with China. This took place in an international context of decreasing tensions between the US and the former Soviet Union. The US recognition of China in 1971 had a remarkable influence on the Argentine military...

~China, as one of the largest importers of resources in the world, is currently undergoing rapid industrialization. This process requires a large import of commodities because domestic supply cannot satisfy its demand. Thus China’s rapid growth model has generated a shift away from raw-material production toward the reliance on resource-rich countries around...

~China’s success in expanding its influence in Latin America is changing the geopolitical dynamics of the Western hemisphere. Approaching these issues from a Chinese point of view on Sino-Latin American strategic partnerships allows for a critical perspective on Chinese global policy considerations. In spite of the historical unfamiliarity, the relationship...

~It used to be said that when the US sneezes, Latin America catches a cold. Nowadays, China has surpassed the US as the main driver of economic fortunes across much of the region. When China sneezes, South America gets a fever. The current global economic scenario is not the most encouraging due to the slowdown of economies on both sides of the Pacific, the drop...

~a balanced deal, 7, 14–15

~Yanran Xu is currently a lecturer in the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, Beijing. She received her Master and Doctoral Degrees of International Studies from University of Miami in 2012 and 2016. She was originally born in Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province from China and became an undergraduate student at the age of sixteen years...