China in Latin America: to BRI or not to BRI (original) (raw)
Related papers
2022
The rise of the Popular Republic of China (PRC) is one of the most significant events in contemporary international relations. However, at the global level, the re-emergence of China as a major global power has led to a considerable debate over the likely consequences for the rest of the world. China’s growing power raises questions as to the meaning of its superpower status as a nation, and the impact of its newfound influence in not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also the Global South. In the specific case of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the debate centers on the potential disadvantages that China’s vast supply of financial resources might bring for the region. Accordingly, the current paper is intended to examine the debate that has arisen in recent literature around the impact of China’s increased economic presence on Latin America –with win-win relations on the one hand and new dependency on the other.
A New Era of China-Latin America Relations
CRIES, 2016
China’s relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) experienced a process of impressive expansion in the first 15 years of the 21st Century. China has been the largest trade partner for some of LAC’s major economies such as Brazil, since 2009. With the negative impact of the global economic slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis in developed countries, the growth of both China and LAC as a whole, as well as the established economic ties of both sides, faced increasing difficulties. The deindustrialization concerns of China’s competition, plus decreasing Chinese demand, resulted in a complex scenario for LAC to re-think its relations with the Asian superpower.
China's Economic Influence in Latin America
Asian Economic Policy Review, 2014
After decades of low‐level commercial interaction, China and Latin America significantly ramped up their economic relationship in the 2000s. China has jumped to first place as an export destination for many countries, and it is a major source of imports for all countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region. While not a major source of foreign direct investment overall, China has built a strong investment presence in certain countries, particularly in the natural resource and infrastructure sectors. China's influence in Latin America has presented a great opportunity for many countries, but it has also brought new risks. Three main challenges face the region: how to mitigate the impacts of increased commodity concentration as a result of China's strong demand for natural resources; how to avoid other natural resource curse effects; and how to manage the tapering of this growth. Latin American countries' relationships with China vary widely, so there is no single, coordi...
China's Growing Influence in Latin America
South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Europa Regional Surveys of the World, 23rd Edition, 2016
Chinese migrants and labourers have been in Latin America for several centuries, and both the People's Republic of China and Taiwan have had political and trade relations with the countries on the continent for decades. However, Chinese involvement in the continent has broadly increased during the last decade. Both Latin American countries and China recovered relatively quickly from the global financial crisis of 2008, and since then have deepened existing trade relations. Additionally, Chinese investment in the region has increased rapidly and is now funding numerous development projects. Chinese trade with Latin America is largely focused on agricultural and mineral products; Chinese investment also focuses on raw materials, often accompanied by infrastructure projects. This essay first presents some background of the current relations between China and Latin America. It then describes current economic and political developments, and focuses on the benefits and pitfalls of Chinese involvement on the continent, specifically the synergy and potential conflict of Chinese and Latin American interests in the exchange of natural materials for investment in infrastructure. The final section discusses mutual perceptions and provides a cautious prospect for further developments.
China's Surge in Latin American Markets: Policy Challenges and Responses
Politics & Policy, 2007
Theories of economic development have yet to fully explain the remarkable ascendance of China in the global economy. From the standpoint of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), China's reform trajectory looks nothing like the market-based policies adopted in varying degrees in the early 1990s. Rather, China's transformation has been a lesson in experimentation with various policy combinations. This raises key questions concerning how the LAC region can best contend with China's growing presence in its markets. Whereas Mexico and Central America face stiff competition from China in low and intermediate technology-based industries (textiles, electronics, auto parts), South America has experienced vibrant growth since 2002 led by raw material exports to China, but at the expense of manufacturing exports. This article analyzes new patterns of complementarity and competition in the China–LAC relationship, and it highlights the need for a more targeted competition policy on the part of the latter.
Sharing or Taking ? Analyzing China ’ s Economic Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean
2017
The economies of the Latin American and Caribbean region are becoming inextricably linked to that of China and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future. These economic linkages are relatively new, multifaceted, expansive and development-oriented. They underline the first comprehensive and sustainable attempt by the region to diversify its economic relations with a country other than the traditional western center nations. Using secondary data, this paper examines the rapid and expanding economic relations between China and LAC countries and the implications of these economic relations for region. It postulates a New South-South Development (NSSD) Paradigm to explain the economic engagement between China and the LAC.
China and Latin America: strategic partners or competitors
This document has as main objective to discuss the dual role that China is playing in Latin America, on one hand, a strategic trade partner in Asia, source of foreign direct investment (FDI) and key ally in the international arena, on the other hand, China is a formidable competitor particularly in the manufacturing sector. To reach the main objective, we make a brief description of the international trade relation between China and Latin America for the last 15 years, also, a review of the investment flows in different economic sectors, and lastly, a description of the political and diplomatic relation between Latin America and China. From this, it can be inferred that the bilateral relation is prominently framed by the trade of commodities from Latin America to China and the Chinese investment in the sourcing of natural resources.
The Dragon in the Backyard: US Visions of China’s Relations toward Latin America*
2013
The economic and political presence of China in Latin America has been growing since the turn of the century. China is now a major trade partner of Latin American countries. China is also a major investor in the region and quite recently also became an important lender as well as, in some cases, a major supplier of military equipment. The United States has to react to the “dragon in the backyard” given that the Western Hemisphere has traditionally been a US zone of influence, and that Latin America is still a major US export market and destination of US investments. Since 2004–2005, politicians and think tanks have recurrently discussed the implications of the growing Chinese presence in Latin America for US interests and foreign policy. Neither the Bush administration nor the Obama administration saw/sees China as amajor threat in Latin America. This was also the position of the majority of analysts linked to different US think tanks. China’s interests in Latin America are mainly economic namely, trade and access to natural resources. While some observers see a competition for scarce resources in Latin America, others emphasize the economic potentials and benefits of Chinese investments to explore new deposits in Latin America. The direct impact of Chinese economic links with Latin America is less important than its indirect impact: Latin American countries —including those with strained ties with the United States— can act more independently, consequently reducing the United States’ leverage to influence their policies.
The Impact of China on Latin America and the Caribbean
World Development, 2008
Summary. — The rapid growth of China and its increased integration with the global economy is having both direct and indirect effects on the Latin American and Caribbean region. The paper fo- cuses on the impacts of China on Latin American trade and foreign direct investment flows. It iden- tifies the main channels through which China's growth is affecting the