Abstract
The following research sheds light on explanatory causes behind the policy decision of an oil rich states to engage in oil-for-loans agreements with China using Ecuador as a case study (2009-2014). The study presents alternative hypotheses that explain this policy outcome from a Latin American perspective and looks at national responses to China’s increasing engagement in the region. China’s quest for oil in particular has ignited a controversial debate over the nature of its objectives in the international oil market and the growing engagement of its national companies in the Western Hemisphere. Yet, less is known about how oil for loans in addition to other economic instruments serve the foreign economic policy of resource-rich countries. As oil is Ecuador’s main source of revenue, the decision to commit its oil supply exclusively to China is drastic shift for an industry considered a national strategic asset.