Latin American Journal of Asian Studies

Composition and Path of Asian Direct Investment in Mexico: Scope and Limitations of the Nearshoring Process

Fabricio Fonseca — 2025-01-28

This paper analyses the patterns of FDI from Asian countries into Mexico trying to understand if the patterns in the last years can show the development of the relocating production facilities from China to North America to leverage lower labor costs and proximity to the U.S. market known as nearshoring. Through a review of existing literature on U.S.-China economic decoupling and its implications for nearshoring, we provide a comprehensive background on Asian investments in Mexico, emphasizing the critical role of the manufacturing sector, especially in automotive industries led by Japanese firms. By analyzing official data from the Mexican government, we compare Asian FDI trends with those from other regions, ultimately offering insights into the strategic choices of Asian companies in response to shifting global economic dynamics. This study aims to enhance understanding of the evolving investment landscape in Mexico and its implications for international trade relations.

The Role of Technological Innovation in International Economic Integration in Park Chung-hee’s South Korea and Deng Xiaoping’s People’s Republic of China

Camila Figueroa Gómez — 2025-01-28

This article analyzes the role of technological innovation in the perspective of Park Chung-hee and Deng Xiaoping regarding the international economic integration of South Korea and the People’s Republic of China, respectively. Despite their ideological and political differences, both leaders adopted a similar political economy approach to drive development and position their coun- tries within the international order. Facing unique geopolitical and economic contexts, both South Korea and China opened their economies to international trade and foreign investment while promoting research and technological development as a respon- se to their internal and external challenges. Using a diachronic comparative approach, this study examines how both leaders conceived technology as a strategic element and implemented policies aimed at absorbing external capabilities and fostering domestic technological innovation to strengthen their economies and enhance their economic and political capacities. The article concludes that, under two authoritarian regimes, and regardless of their paths to power and ideological particularities, both Park and Deng embraced technological innovation as a central strategy to achieve economic development and improve their international integration.

Local Climate Change Management: An Approach to the Participation of Chinese Local Governments in Global City Networks: The Cases of ICLEI, UCLG, C40, and GCoM from 1998 to 2023

Oriana Cherini — 2024-12-20

This paper is an approach to the participation of chinese local governments in the networks of cities working on cli- mate change at the global level, studying the cases of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), Cities 40 (C40) and Global Co- venant of Mayors (GCOM), in the period 1998-2023. It is a descriptive analysis that studies the role of local governments in the fight against climate change through their participation in these organizations. The leadership of chinese cities is fun- damental in these networks, since China is the main emitter of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and its local governments are the main recipients of social demands and are the actors that apply public policies in the territory.