The institutional coauthorships between LAC and China were fertilized through their participation in global leadership related projects. The institutions in each region diverged from their initial position: LAC to the periphery and China to the center. Institutional communities have become more compact and their links with external communities have diminished. The entry of new institutions has increased, especially in the last six years. Chinese institutions exhibited at the time a leading role as social bridges. A Colombian institution later took over this role. Australia is consolidating its position as the geography with the most intermediary institutions.