Maria Blancas holds a PhD in International Relations from Kings College London. Her research interests focus on the effects of China's economic statecraft in developing countries, although she has also written more generally on Chinese foreign policy, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Outside of academia, she has worked in several posts for the Mexican Foreign Service (consular-diplomatic branch) and in the private sector as a trade consultant and through participation in research projects with the International Organisation of Migration. Currently she works as an economic and trade advisor in the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Mexico.

Her talk addresses the field of China-Latin American relations - an area that remains underexplored in academic literature, often constrained by narrow economic analyses or Spanish-language publications. Highlighting the tendency of this literature to downplay local agency and generalise diverse cultural, social and economic contexts, this talk will draw upon Mexico as a useful case study to offer insights into China's economic statecraft in developing nations. Additionally, this talk will explore the nuances of Mexico's unique conditions and how they have proved a challenge for Beijing to deepen its presence in the country.