At the end of 2016, China and Chile increased their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership increasingly involving the development of traditional and nontraditional foreign investments. The former is measured under the usual parameters of economic cooperation that includes horizontal and vertical investments. However, during the last decades, new forms of cooperation have emerged based on the creation of a HUB that responds to complex strategies in specific contexts, which implies the willingness of nations to establish sophisticated links in which both countries use their competitive resources in search of a common benefit. Although there is no absolute limit between traditional and nontraditional foreign direct investments, since they are not mutually exclusive, the latter have become fundamental elements in the establishment of Chinese multidimensional relations and are part of the new path of cooperation in the Latin America region. In this context, Chile is one of the countries that has hosted the largest number of hub platforms led by China in South America, which include the Southern Optical Fiber Project, the China-Chile Joint Astronomical Data Center, and the China-South America Transpacific cable. This article explores the dynamics of these initiatives through the case study of China–Chile relations.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss the characteristics of China’s strategic partners in Latin America, emphasizing the foreign policy orientations of these nations towards China.Design/methodology/approachThe first part is a theoretical analysis of the foreign economic policy orientations of the Chinese strategic partners in South America. In the second part, attention is paid to the empirical regularities of economic cooperation between China and its South American strategic partners.FindingsChina seeks to diversify the profile of its strategic partnerships, as long as they increase Chinas complexity in the orientation of cooperation, using a multidimensional approach, based on three strategic cooperation networks (partners based on ideological affinities, geo-economic partners and trade partners).Originality/valueThis article increases the understanding of how new strategic partnerships take a more active position in the new great geo-economic game in which China is involved. China increases its facilitation role in Latin American Pacific rim countries, as well as its influence in countries historically close to the USA.

En junio del 2016 fue aprobado el primer proyecto del Banco Asiático de Inversión en Infraestructura y una de las preocupaciones de los expertos es que esta nueva institución puede ser flexible con respecto a las condiciones de los préstamos y salvaguardas, argumentando que los creadores de este banco carecen de experiencia suficiente para mantener altos estándares establecidos por los otros bancos multilaterales. En contraste, otros especialistas destacan que la participación de China en el financiamiento a nivel internacional no es nada nuevo. Durante la última década, China ha permitido que los bancos de desarrollo estatales otorguen créditos no concesionales. Este artículo analiza ambos enfoques y los contrasta con un análisis comparativo del diseño de los bancos de desarrollo regionales y el nuevo banco multilateral liderado por China. Además, analiza la orientación de las políticas de crédito y salvaguardas de los 21 primeros proyectos aprobados por AIIB hasta el 2017. El nuevo banco esta apuntando al camino del medio: por un lado, uniéndose a las filas de los principales bancos multilaterales, pero al mismo tiempo, tratando de ser una institución con una visión sur a sur: ágil, respetando las políticas internas de cada país y enfocada en el nicho de los proyectos de infraestructura.    In June 2016 the first project of the AIIB was approved and some experts' concern is if this new institution can be flexible with respect to the conditions of the loans and safeguards, arguing that the creators of this bank lack enough experience to maintain high standards established by the other multilateral banks. In contrast, other specialists point out that China's participation in financing at an international level is nothing new. Over the past decade, China has allowed state development banks to grant non-concessional loans. This article analyzes both approaches and contrasts them with a comparative analysis of the design of the regional development banks and the new multilateral bank led by China. In addition, it analyzes the orientation of the credit policies and safeguards of the first 21 projects approved by AIIB until 2017. The new bank is treading the middle path: on the one hand, joining the ranks of the main multilateral banks, but at the same time, trying to be an institution with a south-south vision: agile, respecting the internal policies of each country and focused on the niche of infrastructure projects.

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