Nowadays， Latin Ameri- can countries are increasingly of great importance to China in terms of economic and trade relations. Take Brazil for example， it has become China’s most important partner， both as a market for Chinese goods and as a source of raw materials. Brazil supplies some 45% of all China’s soybean imports and is also the source for other agricultural products， as well as iron ore and petroleum. It has becomes clear that China’s trade with Latin America has fuelled a boom in the region’s export sectors in countries such as Argentina， Brazil， Chile， Peru and Venezuela.From the beginning of 2011， China’s Foreign Trade magazine will keep a close look on what happened in Latin American countries’ trade agenda. In this issue， we pick Colombia for your reference.ColombiaColombia reported a trade deficit equivalent to US$376 million in November of 2010. Colombia’s major exports are petroleum， coffee， coal， nickel， gold and nontraditional exports (e.g. cut flowers， semiprecious stones， sugar， and tropical fruits). Colombia’s major imports are industrial and transportation equipment， consumer goods， chemicals， paper products， fuels， and electricity. Its main trading partners are: the United States， European Union， Venezuela， China and Mexico.Colombia imports were worth US$3.8 billion in November of 2010. Colombia’s major imports are industrial and transportation equipment， consumer goods， chemicals， paper products， fuels， and electricity. Colombia’s main imports partners are: United States， European Union， China， Mexico and Brazil.Colombia exports were worth US$3.42 billion in November of 2010. Colombia’s major exports are petroleum， coffee， coal， nickel， gold and nontraditional exports (e.g. cut flowers， semiprecious stones， sugar， and tropical fruits). Colombia still exports oil and coffee to the developed world (the United States， Japan， Germany， and Belgium)， while most of its exports to countries such as Venezuela， Mexico， and Ecuador are manufactured products.
