China s expansion into the developing world is a recent development with global implications. In regards to China s expansion much attention has been paid to its actions in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and to a lesser extent Latin America. Considering that Latin America has long been seen by the United States as being under its sphere of influence, combined with the fact that China s bilateral trade with Latin America has expanded at a faster pace than any other region in the world, makes China s rapid expansion a surprising occurrence. This thesis focuses in-depth on the question of how and why China has been able to become Latin America s second largest trading partner in less than a decade of serious engagement.