Speakers:

• Alejandro Werner, Director, Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund
• Jimena Zuniga, Latin America Economist, Bloomberg Intelligence (moderator)

The next five years will be tough for Latin America and the region can't count another commodity boom to save its economy, said Alejandro Werner of the International Monetary Fund. Werner went on to discuss China's evolving relationship with the region, and analyzed the most problematic, as well as promising, economies, from Venezuela's dire oil dependency to Mexico's improved consumer confidence.

Watch highlights of the conversation.

China announced lower growth projections for 2015 in March, but the country's ties with Latin America are far from slowing down. Trade increased exponentially between China and the region grew from $12 billion bilateral trade in 2000 to $289 billion in 2013. In January, China and the Community of Latin American Caribbean States held their first ministerial forum in Brazil, where Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to invest $250 billion in the region over the coming decade. 

In the video above, AS/COA Online spoke with experts about China-Latin America economic ties to find out more about the implications of the Asian country's growing role in the region. 

• Jorge Guajardo, Senior Director, McLarty Associates; former Mexican Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
• Joaquim Tres, Integration and Trade Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas 

AS/COA Explains is a video series exploring important game-changing topics in the Americas. Watch other episodes. To learn more about Latin America's Asia ties:

• LatAm Minute: Rival or Ally? The China-Mexico Trade Dynamic
• Explainer: Seven Points on Nicaragua's Massive Canal Project
• Infographic: China-Latin America Trade
• Video: Trade Integration and the Pacific Alliance
• Explainer: What Is the Pacific Alliance?