November 7, 2026. More than ten Latin American countries are taking part in the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, and Argentina arrived with 32 exporters, more than double its 2025 count, according to Xinhua and Radio Nacional de Argentina. Xinhua says China-Latin America trade totaled 2.92 trillion yuan (about 410 billion US dollars) from January to August 2026, up 14.5 %. The fair runs until Tuesday, November 10.
Who came from the region
Xinhua lists Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia among the participants. Radio Nacional reports that the agency PromArgentina set up a 240-square-meter pavilion for the 32 companies, up from 14 in 2025, covering wine, beef, yerba mate, confectionery, fish, cereals, grains and dietary supplements. Marca País Argentina runs a separate 132-square-meter institutional pavilion.
The Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA) brought 14 meatpackers. According to the farm outlet Ruralnet, China took more than 331,000 tonnes of Argentine beef and bovine bones worth 1,525.8 million dollars from January to September, 61 % of export volume. Ruralnet adds that since early 2026 China has applied country beef import quotas, with an extra 55 % tariff on volumes above them.
Coffee, buyers and "China Haul"
Juan Felipe Ocampo Sánchez, general manager of Colombian trader Cumbres, hopes to export 40 % of his output to China, Xinhua reports. Citing Asoexport, the agency says China imports 350,000 to 600,000 bags of Colombian coffee a year. Emilia Pineda of the Ecuador-Shanghai-China Chamber of Commerce said the fair helps because it sorts buyers by type, such as retail chains and supermarkets.
Trade also flows the other way. Xinhua describes the "China Haul" social media trend, in which Latin American shoppers show products bought in China, such as foldable phones, smart glasses and portable 3D printers. Arrivals in Shanghai from visa-exempt Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay grew 50.5 % between June 2025 and May 2026, according to the agency.
Our take
An organized presence, with a shared pavilion and a promotion agency behind it, lets small and midsize exporters meet Chinese buyers they could not reach alone. The method works in both directions.
- Selling food to China: confirm sanitary access, plant registration with Chinese customs and any quota for your category; our export to China service helps.
- Buying from China: compare several factories through product sourcing and request samples.
- Check goods with a product inspection before shipment.
