Trade and investment flows are increasing between emerging and developing countries. China in particular is becoming a growing force in global investment and trade with developing countries. This trade and investment offers opportunities to finance long-term development in countries where capital is scarce, and for innovation ‘under the frame of South—South cooperation and globalization’ (Ren, 2011). The new players and potential scale of this trade and investment bring new challenges and opportunities for sustainability.

‘Sustainability’ standards and codes, both public and private, are one way to govern this trade and investment, and to enhance its contribution to positive social...

Much attention, particularly in the media, has been paid to the growing role of China in Africa — for example over ‘land grabs’ and whether China’s presence will bring benefits or costs for Africa, and its wider implications for the global aid paradigm (see Buckley, 2012). Seemingly less attention has been paid to China’s growing role in Latin America, despite it being the second biggest recipient of Chinese investment (after Asia) (Ren, 2011).

Indeed, trade and investment between China and Latin America has increased at unprecedented rates in the past six years. In 2006, exports from Latin America and the...

This section presents some of the main opportunities and challenges posed by the growing trade between China and Latin America. It aims to set the scene for better understanding of the potential need for, and value of, existing and future sustainability initiatives.

Economic growth, infrastructure development and job creation are some of the main benefits of this trade (TNC, 2011). A further benefit is access to credit, possibly otherwise unobtainable for some Latin American countries (such as Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador) (Downs, 2011 in Kotschwar et al., 2012). The development of new facilities such as soy processing and new roads...

The sustainability of trade and investment between China and Latin America varies by country and sector, as do the drivers for the adoption and implementation of sustainability standards. In this section, we present some initial insights into the mechanisms being used in mining, forestry and agriculture and the drivers for their implementation — with a particular focus on private voluntary sustainability standards. There are also several cross-sectoral ‘standards’ that shape Chinese investment in, and procurement of, natural resources in Latin America; we look first at

This section offers a brief overview of some of the major standards and principles that...

Trade and investment between Latin America and China is booming, particularly in the natural resource and extractive sectors. This brings with it new challenges and opportunities for the pursuit of sustainable development. The nature of trade and investment between emerging and developing countries — the behaviour of companies, the implementation and development of standards, and overall sustainable development outcomes — are shaped by a number of governance factors. These include:

the regulatory context in which the trade/investment takes place

the regulatory (hard and soft) context from where the investment comes

the nature of the investment or partnership

the demands of...