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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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98 China theEUandLatinAmerica:CurrentIssuesandFutureCooperation Thisscheme would bringtotheregion atendencytowards greater specialisationingoodsforsectorsstronglycommittedtotheuseofnatural resources suchasraw materials foodandfuels.Butisthisthepatternthat MERCOSURdesires Asthedatashow thestrongRCAsectorsoftheSouthern Conearelowintensiveintermsoflabour andthemorethreatenedsectorsare thoserequiringmoreunskilledlabour suchassectorsinwhichChinaisstilla worldleaderandwhicharerelativelyjobsensitiveintheregion suchastextiles andclothing automobilesandspareparts.Therefore inapassivescenario therewouldbenegativepressureonthelabourmarketandnegativeimpactson povertyindices.Likewise thefactthattradespecialisationisbasicallylocatedin thefoodsectormakesthissectortradableandexposesittointernationalprice volatility.Aslongasinternationalpricesincreasetherewillbeanegativeimpact onthecostofthebasicconsumptionbasketandthiswouldnegativelyaffectthe mostunprotectedsocialgroups. Whatshouldbedone JustasinlessthantwodecadesChinastoppedbeingan economybasedonarelativeabundanceoflabourandlowrealwages andthereforea highrealexchangerate ), similarlyMERCOSURshouldpursuemediumtolongterm policiestoenhancetheglobalcompetitivenessofsectorswithhighervalueadded thoughwithoutabandoningitsinternationalinsertionbasedontherelativeabundanceof naturalresources.Thesestrategieswouldhavepositiveeffectsonthelabourmarket socialindicators thebalanceofpayments giventheinternationalpricevolatilityof commodities andtheenvironment. Chinasexperienceprovidessomeinterestingreferences:productivitygains arenotgeneratedbyclosinganeconomy butbygraduallyandorderlyexposing thetradesectortocompetition.Buttheproductivesectorsmustbepreparedfor this challenge.Improving production factors designing adequate education policies anddevelopinginnovationandFDIattractionpoliciesareonlyafewof themorerelevantfactors.Aneconomyscompetitivenessisalsoimprovedby publicprivate publicpublic and privateprivate cooperation clusters and productivevaluechains forinstance arean efficienttoolforimproving competitiveness together withtheconditionsforlocaldevelopment .Such policiesmayinvolveanationalbutalsoaregionaldimension andthereforethe articulationofproductionnetworksamongpublicinstitutionsseemsrelevantfor themembersofMERCOSUR. Finally thereismuchroomforChinaand MERCOSURtocooperateand shareexperiences.Therefore cooperationisanotherstrategylikelytoproduce significantresultsinthemediumterm.