Growth in China and its Impact on Latin America (video from CNN)

On January 21st, Senior Fellow Liliana Rojas-Suarez was interviewed by CNN in Santiago, Chile about the recent growth recovery in China and its effect on Latin America. Although Liliana recognized that growth prospects in the region have improved for 2013 in light of China's recent events (mainly because cause China is the most important trading partner for a number of countries in the region, including Brazil, Chile and Peru) she expressed concerns about the large dependence of many countries in the region on commodities exports to China since this might result in significant growth volatility. Not only are commodity prices quite volatile, but it's not yet clear whether China will be able to sustain a very rapid growth trajectory in the years to come. In Liliana's view, most Latin American countries are not taking full advantage of the good times for the region resulting from China's economic expansion in the last decade. Most notably, the region lacks productivity improvements as well as physical and human capital growth.