Jižní Amerika jako surovinový zdroj Číny

This bachelor's thesis examines the significance of selected South American countries (Brazil, Chile, and Peru) for China in terms of mineral raw material imports during the period 2015–2024. It draws on an analysis of foreign trade data from the UN Comtrade database, supplemented by physical production indices for mineral commodities, and situates the findings within a theoretical framework of international trade in raw materials, particularly the concepts of reprimarization, dependency theory, and global value chains. The thesis successively addresses three research questions concerning the most significant supplier countries, the commodity composition of their exports, and the strategic importance of these raw materials for the Chinese economy. The analysis demonstrated the dominant position of Brazil and a strong concentration of exports in a small number of commodities with a low degree of processing, primarily iron ore, copper, and lithium. The significance of these countries for China is determined not merely by the overall volume of imports, but above all by the strategic role of specific metals essential for the energy transition. It is precisely in the case of copper and lithium from the Andean belt of Chile and Peru that China's import dependence reaches a critical level and continues to grow over time. Trade between the parties meanwhile retains the character of an asymmetric exchange of primary commodities for manufactured goods.