Under the comprehensive guidance of the Institute of Latin American Studies from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and with strong support and friendly care from relevant departments such as Department of Education of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance, Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, and the Association for Social Science in Zhejiang Province, the Institute of Latin American Studies at Zhejiang International Studies University was officially established on October 28, 2011. This is the first research organization at Zhejiang International Studies University and the first one in Zhejiang Province to study Latin America. In June 2017, the Institute became a National and Regional Research Center approved by the Ministry of Education. In August 2020, the Institute was approved as the "Belt and Road" National and Regional Research and Cultivation Center of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission of the PRC.

The Institute is led by Xu Shicheng, a renowned expert in Latin American studies in China and academician of the Honorary Academy of Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who has served as its first director and currently serves as a Distinguished Professor since then. It currently has a full-time and part-time research team with a reasonable structure of age, title, education and academic background, with 30 full-time faculty members on campus, including 13 professors, 14 associate professors and 26 PhDs. Ten of them have been selected for provincial talent projects, with three being at the second level of Zhejiang "New Century 151" talents, two being high-level leaders of Zhejiang universities, and two being Zhejiang Youth Scholars of Social Sciences.

Based on Zhejiang's export-oriented economy, the Institute has conducted multi-dimensional and in-depth basic theoretical research and application policy research in various fields within Latin America in order to serve the needs of national diplomacy, local development, and university development. After more than ten years of development, the Institute has formed three research directions: research on Political Ecology and Social Trends in Latin America; research on Economic Environment and Sino-Latin American Economic Cooperation; research on Social Culture and Sino-Latin American Cultural Exchange. It actively cooperates with domestic and foreign universities such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Latin American Research Institute, Colegio de la Libertad Mexicana (Mexico), National University of Rafaela (Argentina), and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico), among others. The Institute has collaborated with China Social Science Press to publish an annual series titled "Latin American Studies".

By upgrading its research level, the Institute strives to be among the advanced ranks of Latin American research institutes in the world, and strive to become the only one in Zhejiang Province, one of the top three in the country, and a well-known advanced think-tank in the international arena with the integration of "policy consulting, scientific research, personnel training, social services, and foreign exchange".

The visit of headmaster of University Autonomous of Chihuahua of Mexico

Second series titled "Latin American Studies"

Members of Institute of Latin American Studies

Nameplate of Institute of Latin American Studies