Patterns of international trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Patterns of international trade - Essay Example China, which experienced rapid development over the last fifty years which catapulted it into the position of the second most powerful economy, continues to cultivate a strong relationship with Latin American countries in the 21st century. Globalisation avails numerous challenges as well as opportunities for countries that wish to develop greater trading experiences even if they are located in different parts of the world. Globalisation has also brought about the phenomenon of economic interdependence which encourages nations from all over the world to seek for trading ties with each other. While seeking to further develop their cooperative relationship, both Latin American countries and China are faced with different challenges and have to find strategic ways of overcoming these issues in order to mutually benefit from their trading relationships. Even though the Latin American region is culturally as well as geographically disparate from China, their governments have been successful in establishing trading relationships with each other since the days of yore. The first recorded exchange between Latin America and China is said to have taken place in the mid-16th century. This exchange resulted in the creation of a trade route, identified as ‘the Sea Silk Road’, which ran across the Pacific Ocean. This route would pass through the Philippines (Rosales and Kuwayama 2012). This route was used by the Chinese merchants to ferry commodities like textiles, embroidery, and flatware to Latin America, which was then identified as being part of the New World. The Chinese would then be rewarded with goods such as maize, silvers, and tobacco by nations like Peru and Mexico. These were loaded in carracks which were then given to the Chinese. In 1840, at the end of the Opium War, there were numerous Chinese labourers who were r elocated to Latin America for work purposes. These labourers would contribute significantly to the region’s cultural as