China securing oil in Latin America

I thought it would be interesting to find an article with more of a US perspective on the growing influence of China in Latin America. The New York Times article I read stressed how important oil has been in the growing relationship between China and countries like Venezuela and Argentina. China's growing sphere of influence, besides raising concerns for the US over losing such valuable trade partners, also concerns me because as the article points out, China will gain political influence in the region. In Latin America's history, foreign countries have not usually had the people's best interest in mind and instead have supported with their great economic strength, officials who did not represent the needs of the people. I doubt China is any different, especially since it has so many of its own people to worry about. In addition, I am wondering what will happen to Latin American countries, involved in oil trade with China, when those resources run out or lose some of its demand. It will probably lead to another economic hardship, similar to after the Great Export Boom.
Here's the article I read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/world/16chinaloan.html
It seems funny to me that China, which was built on communism, has such strong and prevalent capitalist skills.