There were two exogenous shocks to established Latin American international relations at the beginning of the twenty-first century. One was the growing distance between the region's governments and the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush over many issues. The other was the dramatic entrance of China as a significant political economic partner. In addition to discussing the possibility of shifting from the Washington Consensus to the Beijing Consensus and the transition from liberal capitalism to national capitalism, this paper also investigates China-Brazil relations as a case study. It concludes by discussing four challenges facing China in its economic relations with Latin America.