Underlying issues in the emergence of China and Brazil as major global players in the new South–South trade and investment axis

This article compares the evolution of the Brazilian and Chinese economies and focuses on the way asymmetrical trading and investment relations have become consolidated. The agro-industrial and agro-food sectors are analysed in this light, with particular attention to trade in soy which is by far the most important product. The article details the way in which the shift in soy trade from South–North to South–South has been accompanied by changes in composition and investment strategies. The article concludes by situating these trends within broader changes affecting overall trade and investment between the two countries.