In todays International relations, the creation of strategic partnerships between nations has allowed the big countries to define their own position in the international arena, and it has also given them the power to give a linguistic privilege to countries that seek to be acknowledged by the international community and which are competent enough to the eyes of the power country.This research analyzes the concepts of friendship, cooperation, strategic partnership in order to distinguish the real dimension of denominating one country with one or the other name.The analysis shows that there is not a consensus of the differences between the terms, but that they do mark a difference in diplomatic relations between two nations.As seen in the first chapter, two nations can have cooperation without being friends but friends cannot easily become strategic partners without having strong cooperation ties which are particularly designed for the actors involved in the relation.Sino-Latin American relations are currently demarcated by a core-periphery relationship.Although China is not part of the dominant core, it does not belong to the periphery either.Latin America continues to be a region deeply dependent in its primary good exports and China is claiming for the acquisition of those goods.In 2008, China expressed its political guidelines towards Latin America in the White Book or Chinas Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean aimed to strengthen cooperation with the region under an ‘omnipresent perspective.Since then,Sino-Latin American relations are based on the idea of development, cooperation,anti-hegemony and anti-imperialism.This research takes Chinas contemporary foreign policy towards Latin America in order to make visible the differentiated relation this country has with its strategic partners in the region.This divergence reflects that Chinas designed foreign policy towards Latin America does not apply in the same way to all the countries of the region.Chinas policies are especially directed to the countries it considers useful for the accomplishment of its goals.Even though China uses only one discourse to approach other nations, that discourse can emphasize some points and silence others in order to get more benefits from its target countries.In Chinas foreign policy, the term friendship is the most recurrent one.The Chinese friendship follows the principles described by Roschin which already includes certain values of trust and compromise with a second actor.In all Chinese diplomatic discourses,the word friendship appears as the principle element which enhances the relationship.No matter if the other country is or is not a strategic partner, the word friendship is stressed as a prerequisite for the relation to come to existence.In order to determinate Colombias place in Sino-Latin American strategic partnerships,the research takes Chinas strategic partners to describe the characteristics that made their relation with China more deep than a simple friendship.The analysis shows that recognizing China as a market economy, supporting China in multilateral issues, signing a FTA with China and sharing common principles are elements that can help to deepen the relation, but none of these is necessary to become one of Chinas strategic partners.Brazils relation with China aims not only at the strengthening of bilateral relations but also at the acquisition of a greater influence in the international arena and cooperation on multilateral issues.Both countries are leading powers in their region and both seek to balance the United States power in the region.Another important conclusion is that their common presence in Africa has reflected their common interest in South-South cooperation.Finally, it can be said that in the case of Sino-Brazilian relations, the Chinese definitions of friendship and cooperation are preceding elements for a strategic partnership.The term in diplomatic discourse is historic and it has been changing with the present context.In the beginning, a strategic partnership was mainly an ideological and timid trade cooperation aimed to achieve a common goal of development; in recent times,economic interests and the will to play a more influential role with the other actors support became key components of the relation.Sino-Mexican relations, different from the others in the region, are characterized by a competitive market as both are manufacture-based economies.This study analyzes how Mexico represents a strategic place at which to direct its exports because of its geographical closeness with the United States.At the same time, Mexicos privileged geographical location makes it influential in Central America and thus it can persuade the six countries in the region which have not recognized the "One China principle" According to these arguments, in the case of Mexico, China represents an emergent economic power and an influential power in the Asian market which brings benefits to the domestic area.In the case of China, the interest in creating and maintaining a strategic partnership with Mexico is not only economic but also political.The Peru-China relations are basically economic.As Peru signed a FTA with China,its trade flows have increased in the last years.Peru upgraded its relation with China to a comprehensive strategic partnership which, according to the diplomatic discourses,emphasizes the diversification of their relations.Peru has a strategic geographical location that facilitates the commerce within the region which is one of Chinas interests.Chinese presence in the country has contributed to a significant increment in the countrys economy,especially in investment areas.Sino-Chilean relations have always been characterized by the growing trade inflows.Chile was the first in supporting Chinas entry to the WTO and the first to give China the status of market economy.However, according to the changes in its status, Chile achieved this goal relatively late when comparing it to other strategic partners in the region with a lower performance in its trade inflows with China.Chile and Chinas strategic partnership seems to be a simple denomination that emerged some years after the relations between the two countries were already significant.However, as said before, the strategic partnership between the two countries is relatively young and it is still too early to determine the benefits it brings for each of them.Sino-Argentinian relations are based on mutual support of the primacy of Argentinian sovereignty over the Falklands and Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.The Sino-Argentinian strategic partnership is still based on commercial cooperation.Before 2004, the relation between the two countries was denominated as a full-range cooperative partnership.The friendship relations discourse has continuously been used to approach each other further.After it was given the new denomination in 2004, the partnership should have taken a multifaceted dimension.On the one hand it is true that it now also deals with diplomacy, development, military cooperation and exchanges between civil societies; the increment in the trade however has been the most visible result of the status change.Colombias place in Sino-Latin American strategic partnerships is shaped by the ambivalence of the politicized approach of the big country to Colombia.The US-Colombian relation represents a political restraint for China to the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries.Even though Chinas foreign policy is frequently characterized for its pragmatic nature, China seems to distrust the support Colombia can give to its policies due to its closeness with the United States.Colombia accomplishes most of the elements that China in its diplomatic speeches considers necessary to establish a strategic partnership with another nation.However, the biggest impediment for Colombia to achieve this status seems to be its dependent relations with the United States perpetuated by a long-term internal conflict and poverty.These social and security problems have motivated Colombia to base its foreign policy on different investment areas than China is interested in.It will be Chinas and Colombias task to redirect cooperation areas and investments that can satisfy both nations interests.