Agustín Crivelli, economist at the Scalabrini Ortiz Center for Economic and Social Studies in Buenos Aires:
“The agreement signed with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will not contribute to increased sales of Argentine products in the Chinese market, since Argentine rules do not allow door-to-door commerce for export, as is the case for imports. So it is expected that Argentine purchases, but not sales, will increase through Alibaba. The consequences are known: a higher trade defi cit, increased indebtedness and a process of ‘reverse substitution,’ in which local industrial products are replaced by manufactures from China. The agreements between China and various Latin American countries have only contributed to reinforcing the classic international division of labor of the major powers, along with the land and business sectors of our region.[...]