East Asia and Latin America: A History of Connection and Emerging Geopolitical Alignment

A new exhibition and growing diplomatic ties highlight the long-standing, yet often overlooked, connections between East Asia and Latin America, stretching back centuries and gaining renewed relevance in a shifting global order.

The Manila Galleon: A Transpacific Bridge

The first major instance of transpacific trade began in 1565 with the Manila Galleon, initiated by the Spanish Crown. These ships made annual voyages from Manila, Philippines, to Acapulco, Mexico, creating a mercantile network connecting Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The galleons carried goods like silk, porcelain, and spices from Asia, exchanged for silver and other American products like corn, cocoa, tobacco, and cochineal. This trade route lasted for 250 years, ending in 1815.

Despite being largely attributed to the Spanish, the galleons carried goods primarily originating from China, leading to them being called “the Nao of China.” The Manila Galleon was a pivotal moment in the relationship between Mexico, the Philippines, and the broader Americas and Asia.

Cultural Exchange and Hybridity

The exchange wasn’t limited to goods. The flow of people and ideas led to cultural blending. Chinese porcelain designs influenced pottery workshops in Puebla and Tlaxcala, Mexico, mirroring similar developments in Delft, Netherlands. Manila shawls, woven in China, became integrated into the traditional dress of Zapotec women in Mexico, famously worn by Frida Kahlo. Foods like corn, chilis, mangoes, and coconuts also became staples on both sides of the Pacific.

A Shared History of Colonialism and Modernization

The exhibition “Somos Pacífico. El mundo que emergió del trópico” (“We Are the Pacific: The World That Emerged from the Tropics”) at the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City, explores these historical connections. It traces cultural and commercial links from the Spanish conquests to decolonization. The exhibition merges two previous exhibits from Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum and National Gallery, focusing on the Manila Galleon trade and modernist art from Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Artists from both regions shared similar aesthetic concerns, influenced by comparable climates, histories, and aspirations. Like Mexican muralists, artists in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia sought to construct new national identities, blending abstraction with Indigenous imagery and reclaiming stereotypes.

Renewed Diplomatic and Economic Ties

The historical connections are informing present-day relationships. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Singapore in 2023, Singapore plans to open a resident embassy in Mexico City in 2026.

Bilateral trade between Mexico and Singapore reached $4.7 billion in 2024, a 60 percent increase from the previous year. Mexico is a major agricultural exporter, while Singapore is a leading financial hub.

Geopolitical Implications and Regional Cooperation

The strengthening ties between East Asia and Latin America are occurring against a backdrop of a changing global order. Both regions share concerns about transnational crime, climate change, and pandemics. The Philippines, through its participation in the Forum for East Asia-Latin American Cooperation (FEALAC), has emphasized the need for unity in addressing these challenges. FEALAC, established in 1999, aims to strengthen exchange and cooperation between the two regions.

As the United States and China’s roles become less predictable, Latin American and East Asian nations are seeking to reimagine the balance of power and trade, drawing on their shared history and emerging economic partnerships.