Letter From the Editor

親愛的同事們,

A few years ago I was wandering through the Saara region of Rio de Janeiro in the late afternoon and stopped to have an esfiha in a traditional Syrian eatery. The young girl behind the counter was clearly Han Chinese and spoke just enough Portuguese to facilitate our transaction. As I was happily munching away, I looked down a row of stores selling the myriad shimmering and feathery things necessary for Carnaval. The stores were closing and each metal curtain was pulled down by a young Chinese person. From the parking garages emerged a series of rather expensive cars driven by Chinese patresfamilias, the new dons of the Carnaval trade in Rio.

This insignificant moment in Rio's vibrant commercial district got me thinking about the ways in which Latin America and China are interconnected beyond the production and consumption of consumer goods. The retreat of the United States fro the region has opened opportunities for Chinese investment in infrastructure, technology, and political interaction. A number of academic journals have produced special issues that explore the relationships between Latin America and China but none have taken the explicitly geographic perspective that we offer in this Special Issue on China and Latin American Relations. Our guest editors Julie Klinger and Tom Narins have worked closely with Associate Editor Jorn Seemann to bring together a wonderful array of stories, perspectives, and ideas that give us ample food for thought about this enduring and dynamic interchange.

As part of our ongoing efforts to modernize and expand the reach of JLAG, we have included Chinese abstracts for the first time. We hope that this will allow the journal to reach new audiences and stimulate interchange between Latin American and Chinese geographers. Additionally, we continue to direct ever more resources to editing and production and continue to seek avenues for innovation and engagement with geographers throughout the Americas and beyond.

It is fitting, therefore, that this is the first issue of JLAG that will be published under the aegis of the "new CLAG." The removal of the "ista" nomenclature from CLAG was an overdue recognition that the organization is not only a home for North American geographers who study Latin America, but rather a place of encounter and exchange between and for all Latin American Geographers regardless of origin or residence. As the Conference of Latin American Geography approaches its 50th year, the editorial team at JLAG would like to renew our call to all of our Latin American colleagues to contribute to the growth of the journal through which we can foster debate, promote change, and develop lasting relationships.

好利潤!