Don't blink, otherwise you might miss the litany of deals China has been making across Latin America! China has recently signed oil deals with Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela; and has contracts and cooperation deals with governments in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay - effectively the entire Latin American continent.
In the early stages of Sino-Latin American cooperation, China seemed to be treading rather carefully, hesitant of both its foreign policy and place on the international global stage. The recent increase in overseas activity - from Africa to Latin America, and beyond - however, suggests that Chinese confidence is rapidly growing. The global financial crisis in particular has raised skepticism over America's hitherto seemingly unwavering preeminence, and has at the same time proffered China as a viable alternative. Indeed, an increasing number of countries are now saying "thanks, but no thanks" to U.S. cooperation and assistance, choosing instead to place their faith in the Chinese. Latin America is case in point.
The strategy the Chinese are employing across the continent appears identical to that which is being pursued in Africa, with oil-for-infrastructure contracts as the primary modus operandi. Like in Africa, too, Chinese investment is manifest on many economic levels - from high level government contracts all the way down to small-scale private entrepreneurs who sell vegetables and various knick-knacks on the side of the road. What's more interesting in the case of Latin America, however, is that the partnerships appear to be much more ideologically laden than those in Africa. This is especially true in Venezuela.
In a a great video from Al Jazeera English (HT: Double Handshake), Venezuelan economics professor Jesus Farias briefly touches on the issue of the Venezuelan socialist model and its seemingly logical intersection with its Chinese counterpart (this, around 2:34). He seems to be suggesting that cooperation between China and Venezuela is predicated not only on economic exchange, but has as its broader objective the restructuring of the global political landscape. I'm not wholly certain that this is necessarily the case - or that such is the objective of other Latin American countries engaged in relations with China - but it certainly is an interesting point worthy of further consideration. Viva la revolution...?