With President Hu Jintao's November 2004 visit to Latin America, China signaled to the rest of the world its growing interest in the region. Indeed, this recent encroachment on the United States' backyard has awakened new concerns in U.S. policy circles. On the one hand, this development could challenge U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere. On the other hand, some observers view China's courtship of Latin America as a natural step due to China's need for long-term commodities and energy solutions.

The trade partnership between China and the U.S. symbolizes one of the most important bilateral relationships in the twenty first century. In light of this relationship, will China's move to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with Latin America heighten the level of tension between these two powerhouses?

China's Expansion into the Western Hemisphere presents a revealing and multilayered exposition of this triangular relationship and the motivations of each player. To that end, experts from Latin America, China, Europe, and the United States evaluate the ramifications of China's emergence as a world power. Several chapters craft a framework for anticipating the economic and energy security aspect of the China-Latin American relationship. This absorbing analysis of China's hemispheric policy provides an in-depth look at a particularly sensitive aspect of its peaceful rise.

Guadalupe Paz is associate director of the Latin American Studies Program at SAIS.

Riordan Roett is Sarita and Don Johnston Professor and Director of the Western Hemisphere Program at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.