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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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74 China theEUandLatinAmerica:CurrentIssuesandFutureCooperation 2.4 GeopoliticalValueofEnergy As already mentioned energyin Latin Americais factor promoting independence inthesensethatitdoesnotneedexternalresources.Atthesame time itisafactorinpoliticalrestructuring aligningthedifferentLACcountries accordingtotheirenergycapabilities.Thismeansthattheyaredividedinto energy producers and energyconsumers .CountriessuchasBrazil Venezuela Mexico BoliviaandEcuadorareenergyproducers whileChileisanetconsumer andinthe middle therearemanycountriestryingtoestablishabalance.Inaddition anew categoryof energynationalism hasemergedincountriesthatseektousetheir advantageasproducerstoestablishanewregionalpowerbalance. 3.犜犺狉犲犲犐犿狆狅狉狋犪狀狋犆狅狀狊犻犱犲狉犪狋犻狅狀狊犠犺犲狀犃狆狆狉狅犪犮犺犻狀犵犔犪狋犻狀犃犿犲狉犻犮犪 3.1 FirstConsideration:LatinAmericasDiversity AgoodstartingpointforunderstandingLatinAmericaistothinkofitasa puzzle composedofdifferentorevenoppositezones.Latin Americaandthe Caribbeancannotbethoughtofasawhole andextraregionaldialoguemust takethisintoaccount.Infact itisaregionofsubregions. Ingeographicalterms theLACregioncanbedescribedasfoursubregionsandtwo nonintegratedcountries.FromNorthtoSouth thereisMexicoatthetop thenCentral AmericaandtheCaribbean whicharegroupedintheCentralAmericanIntegration System SICA andtheCaribbeanCommunity CARICOM .InSouthAmerica there aretheAndean CANgroup andtheAtlanticcountries MERCOSUR .Thesetwo SouthAmericansystemshavenowcreatedanewmechanism calledUNASUR.Atthe bottomofthemap thereisChile whichisanisolatedcountry. Thissubregionaldistributionembodiesawiderangeofcharacteristics as wellasdifferentdiagnosesandresponsestoenvironmentalandenergymatters. Eachsubregionhasitsownenvironmentalinstitutionsandavarietyofsub regionalandnationalpolicies prioritiesandstrategies showingthevaried relevancegiventoclimatechangeandenergyinLACsubsystems Box1 犆犲狀狋狉犪犾犃犿犲狉犻犮犪狀犐狀狋犲犵狉犪狋犻狅狀犛狔狊狋犲犿 犛犐犆犃 犕犪犻狀犳犲犪狋狌狉犲狊 ItincludessevenCentralAmericancountries Guatemala Belize El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua CostaRicaandPanama andoneCaribbean country DominicanRepublic withhighoilandgasdependency.Halfof thesecountriesarealliedtoPetrocaribe aVenezuelaninitiative.