From the beginning of the 21st century, China has played a dominant role in international trade and geopolitics. China has been experiencing great economic growth for decades, a significant increase in its share in the global production of goods, its own novel technological developments. One of the consequences of this phenomenon is the increase in China's demand for commodities and supplies to maintain its levels of growth, which has resulted in significant increases in the foreign sales of food-exporting countries. This study presents information of recent commercial and financial links between South American countries (particularly Argentina and Brazil) and China, in order to analyze them in terms of economic development. The evaluation of these relations as a form of competence based on the deepening of the exploitation of natural resources using the dependency approach.