NEW YORK, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Latin America is worth caring about regardless of how it factors into Washington's competition with Beijing, argued an article published on World Politics Review on Monday, as U.S. policy in Latin America is strongly shaped by the question of China's involvement and influence there.

"When competing with Beijing, U.S. criticisms cannot be aimed at pushing China out of Latin America, but they can help shape better actions by China throughout the hemisphere," insisted the author of the essay titled "In Latin America, the U.S. Is Getting Competition With China All Wrong."

It's no mystery why much of Latin America would want a relationship with Beijing: The economic opportunities it offers the region are too large to ignore. And China has successfully integrated itself with the region's economies in such a way that reversing that process at this point would be nearly impossible, explained the article.

China is "the major trading partner and commodity purchaser for much of South America," said the report. "And in some places, its loans rival those of multilateral development banks, making China a key actor in any debt negotiations that Latin American economies might face in the challenging years ahead."

"While the U.S. is not going to convince countries to turn away from Beijing, it could very well help governments debate and regulate their way to a better and more fair playing field, for China but also for all foreign powers operating in their countries. That would ultimately benefit the populations of countries across the region," it added.