Since the 1990s the soybean crop has increased in the Southern Cone of Latin America (LA). During this time, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay have become soybean producers. This phenomenon was influenced by the rising soybean demand from China for use in animal feed as the country changed its diet patterns. South American soybean exports to China constitute an important percentage of the bilateral commerce. Basically, two views can be identified with regard to China’s relations with LA countries. One of them emphasizes opportunities for building mutually beneficial relations and underscores the economic complementarity between both regions. Yet, the critical literature on China and Latin American relations draws attention to the contradictions of this process by highlighting the deepening of neo-extractivism and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. Describing the Argentine portion of the soybean commodity chain this paper will present data to support this critical literature. It depicts the actors, strategies and the degree of monopolization of each of the nodes of soybean production based on secondary data. The article’s key findings are as follows: (1) there is high monopolization and foreignization of soybean production and commercialization; (2) as China has become a global player in genomics and agrochemicals, it has reproduced the same patterns as the core countries; (3) despite the win-win diplomatic statements of the People’s Republic of China, there are important asymmetries in trade, and the Argentine deficits have continually increased; (4) by expanding GM soybean production, Argentina has augmented the concentration of land, primarization and transnationalization of the economy and monoculture; (5) the Cristina F. de Kirchner progressive government failed to stop soybean expansion, and with the drop of the economic growth rate that is associated with the fall of commodity prices combined with the restriction of access to international credits, the government was put in check by various fronts. The distributive conflict contributed to the increasing social confusion that led to a right wing recovery in 2015. Therefore, this article shows that China’s increasing trade with Argentina in the soybean sector follows the existing structure of the global commodity chain and does not offer much space for progressive change in Argentina’s political economy. The data that are presented demystify Chinese win-win statements and counter expectations about China as an alternative globalizer that would bring more benefits to the global South than traditional core countries have.

PurposeIn recent years, the People's Republic of China has made remarkable progress in science and technology. The Chinese industry is competing for leadership in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, robotics, artificial intelligence, aerospace and green energy. This article aims to analyze: What role do industrial parks, especially Suzhou Industrial Park, play in upgrading technology to encourage independent innovation and economic development? How SIP is related to the Belt and Road Initiative?Design/methodology/approachThis research summarizes China's most important scientific and technological reforms and policies and in particular the Torch Program. In addition, it develops a case study of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) by analyzing documents, bibliography and presenting data. It ends with a case study of the role of SIP in the Belt and Road Initiative analyzing the Great Stone Park in Belarus.FindingsThis article highlights that: China's experience clearly shows that the "visible hand" of the State plays a very important role in economic development and technological catch-up. All of them are implemented from a strategy linking the national objectives with the local ones, this is done from a top-down perspective. As an important aspect of economic and social development, China's experience in promoting indigenous innovation in science and technology provides a relevant example for developing countries.Research limitations/implicationsThere are few academic literature on Great Stone Industrial Park.Practical implicationsThe international cooperation of the SIP with the technology parks throughout the BRI-countries provides relevant information to deepen collaboration in this field and could contribute to closing the technological gap in developing countries.Originality/valueThe role of the SIP in the Belt and Road initiative is an under research topic. There is few bibliography discussing the impacts of the cooperation in science and technology in the framework of the BRI.

La República Popular de China pasó en pocas décadas de constituir un país periférico a ser la segunda potencia económica, científica y tecnológica mundial. Entre otros factores para explicar este rápido ascenso en el escenario global, destacan las decisiones en materia de política científica, tecnológica y de innovación. Este artículo analiza, en primer lugar, el papel que las políticas de ciencia y tecnología tuvieron en la historia reciente china a partir de una periodización en torno a los principales hitos desde la revolución de 1949 hasta la actualidad. En segundo lugar, a partir de la experiencia china, se extraen algunas lecciones que pueden ser relevantes para la formulación de políticas científicas y tecnológicas en el contexto argentino y latinoamericano.

Se presentan aspectos relevantes del sistema de ciencia y tecnología de la República Popular China, la estructura institucional y el planeamiento estratégico del sector y se caracterizan las principales reformas que permitieron el despegue económico y científico-tecnológico del país asiático. Por otra parte, se analiza la cooperación sino-argentina en CyT a partir de los tratados bilaterales y se compara con tratados similares establecidos con Estados Unidos. Se discute en particular la cooperación llevada a cabo en el campo de la biotecnología y el sector nuclear. El análisis del fenómeno del despegue tecnológico chino permite reflexionar sobre los desafíos, oportunidades y enseñanzas que brindan. Proporciona además ideas y alternativas para construir una estrategia de desarrollo nacional y regional centrada en la transformación productiva, el trabajo, la soberanía y la inclusión.

La creciente disputa entre Estados Unidos de América y China tiene un foco crítico en la competencia en torno al 5G, infraestructura tecnológica que permitirá innovaciones en el autoguiado de vehículos, las operaciones remotas, la robótica, la inteligencia artificial y otras aplicaciones. Si bien el 5G aún está emergiendo, la conformación de la infraestructura de red, las regulaciones, las patentes y los estándares se configuran como una disputa eminentemente global por mercados, pero también por la seguridad nacional. Esto ha ganado un lugar central en la agenda de política externa de la mayoría de los países del globo, incluyendo a los del Sur Global. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las condiciones de emergencia del 5G en dos de los principales países del Sur Global, India y Brasil, en el marco de la disputa entre EE.UU. y China. A través de la contextualización de esta disputa y sus desdoblamientos en India y Brasil se busca extraer una serie de reflexiones preliminares para otros países del Sur Global. Se contribuye a entender las condiciones de emergencia de una nueva fase del paradigma de telecomunicaciones móviles a partir del desarrollo de dos casos principales aun inexplorados sistemáticamente por la literatura en español.