Chile’s foreign policy towards Asia Pacific: the decline of the free trade strategy inthe face of the international society’s transition

Abstract

Chile’s foreign policy strategy towards the Asia-Pacific region has been based on free trade. The strategy’s modus operandi has been focused on bolstering bilateral trade with a pragmatic multilateralism through organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). Although this model has had relative success, it has also shown signs of decline due to regional changes. The redistribution of regional power, the development of alternatives to the Bretton Woods institutions and, especially, China's role and its commitment to multilateralism and relations with Latin America that go beyond free trade, point towards significant changes that have not been considered by Chilean foreign policy. This article contends that a new scenario is taking shape, characterized by a post-hegemonic regionalism with a long term view that differs from Occidentalism and a limited pragmatism, evincing an international society in transition, that Chile’s foreign policy strategy is not considering, but to which it needs to adapt.