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Purpose This article examines trade opportunities that could strengthen the relationship between Colombia and China based on their comparative advantages and product diversification, since China is Colombia's second-largest trading partner and an important player for Latin America. Design/methodology/approach This article employs the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) calculation as an analytical method to examine the share of each product in its bilateral trade balance. Findings Results confirm the commodity profile of the Colombian market while also showing a structural stability in the export portfolio. The article concludes by suggesting that Colombia must focus its public policies on industrialization and diversification of its exports to overcome new challenges in developing higher-value-added goods. Research limitations/implications This risk of simultaneity can lead to an overestimation of comparative advantage in sectors with state incentives or uncontrolled external factors. To address these limitations, we use three successive filters to compare bilateral performance with Colombia's overall performance and China's relative position, reducing bias from single-market shocks. Practical implications A consistent and operationally viable bilateral formulation of the NRCA for analysis by product and destination; a replicable procedure for identifying untapped opportunities, and empirical evidence on resilience and composition of opportunities around the pandemic. Social implications A diversification and integration into global value chains (intermediate inputs, manufactured goods with higher technological content), accompanied by investment in I + D, logistics and human capital. Originality/value This research proposes a bilateral version of the NRCA, validates changes in trade flow compositions between Colombia and China resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and identifies previously unexplored trade opportunities between the two countries.