Introduction

This chapter looks at Latin Americas relations with two key regions outside the American hemisphere: Europe and Asia. Latin Americas relationships with Europe and Asia are important because these regions offer the prospect of providing counterweight to United States (US) hegemony in the western hemisphere. Russian commercial activity and aid in Latin America has had concrete political and diplomatic objectives. Prominent themes in the analysis of Europe's relationship with Latin America are its role as a counterweight to US power, its economic interests in the region, and its support for integration and democratisation. East Asian countries such as Japan and China have long had links with Latin America both as trading partners and sources of immigration. Japans powerful economic presence acquired significance after the 1960s when Japanese trade and investment in Latin America grew rapidly. A feature of relations with Asia since the 1990s has been growing interdependence around the Pacific Rim through trade and a consciousness of shared interests.