Author: Dorothy Kronick

  • Keeping up

    The Mexican export sector can’t compete with China’s.  Why? In yet another reminder of the uneven evolution of the Sino-Mexican bilateral relationship, Mexican President Felipe Calderón visited China last week with the goal of encouraging investment in Mexico. The press took the opportunity to rehash the striking change in trade between the two countries since…

  • Is Venezuela selling oil to China instead of to the U.S.?

    The United States is importing less oil from Venezuela, and China is buying more. Is Venezuela putting its resources where Hugo Chávez’s mouth is and using the country’s major export as a geopolitical lever? Or are U.S. imports just catching up with a 10-year decline in Venezuelan production? The U.S. Energy Information Administration released April…

  • Cuba–China Ties in Focus as Standing Committee Member Visits Fidel

    Fidel Castro met with He Guoqiang, a member of China’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, for more than two hours yesterday, discussing numerous and diverse topics such as Tibet, Taiwan, food prices, the Olympics, and Fidel’s health (He conveyed President Hu Jintao’s wish for Castro’s speedy recovery). Earlier in the week He met with Cuban President…

  • Venezuelan–Chinese Investment and an Industrial Showcase

    Lest a week go by without new evidence of strengthening ties between China and Venezuela, a massive trade show featuring Chinese companies and products opens tomorrow in Caracas. The fair includes more than seventy Chinese firms from numerous industries, ranging from porcelain to automobiles. The fair, organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, is an…

  • Tacos in China

    A Mexican mall opens in China—good news for China residents who like good tequila. But the mall is a rare example of Mexico selling to China. Usually China does the exporting, to Mexico and to Mexico’s most important market, the United States. Mexican companies are struggling to compete. The Mexican consulting firm Latinasia will inaugurate…