Bilateral Relations between China and Colombia: 1990-2010

Abstract

This article examines the bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and Colombia during the 90s and the 00s. Most academic analyses focused on the commercial and financial relationship between the two countries and this is why we draw attention on the importance of the political dimension of this relationship. This article also describes and analyzes the relationship in terms of human rights, military negotiations and other political aspects such as the recognition of China as a market economy and the role played by the very close and special relationship between Colombia and the United States. This article explains why even if the relationship between the two countries has substantially deepened, it is still a marginal relation due to China’s attraction toward bigger economies in Latin America and the special relationship between the United States and Colombia.