Soft Power and China's Story in Latin America

The Spanish expression "cuento chino," or "Chinese story" is a synonym for "tall tale." It's a fitting expression for our times, since China's size, population and spectacular economic achievements of late have inspired grand fantasies across Latin America.

Barely a decade ago, China was the world's seventh-largest economy. Now, by the reckoning of the International Monetary Fund, China will overtake the United States and become the world's largest economy in 2016.