Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri

Politics

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Apr 17, 2018 Juan Pablo Cardenal

هونغ كونغ- في بداية هذا القرن عندما أطلقت الصين سياسة "الخروج"- التي تركز على استخدام احتياطات النقد الاجنبي لدعم التوسع الخارجي والاستحواذات من قبل الشركات الصينيه- توقع قله من الناس ان تصبح الصين لاعبا اقتصاديا بارزا في امريكا اللاتينيه ولكن هذا ما حصل بالفعل والسؤال هل هذا يعتبر شيئا جيدا بالنسبه لإمريكا اللاتينيه.

في أقل من 15 عام ، تطور الدور الصيني من لعب دورا اقتصاديا هامشيا في امريكا اللاتينيه الى ان تصبح الصين واحدة من كبار المستثمرين والشركاء التجاريين لمعظم دول المنطقة بالإضافه الى تربعها على القمه من حيث الإقراض وبناء البنيه التحتيه ومع التطور السلس لخطط الصين الإقتصاديه في امريكا اللاتينيه- وهو توجه من غير المرجح ان يتغير في اي وقت قريب-فلقد وضعت الصين نصب أعينها هدف آخر وهو توسيع نفوذها السياسي في المنطقه وغيرها من المناطق .

بالطبع فإن وضع الصين كقوه اقتصاديه كبيره يعطيها درجه كبيره من النفوذ السياسي ولكن الدوله الصينيه والحزب الشيوعي الصيني يسيعيان كذلك لتطبيق استراتيجه اكثر مباشرة وتنسيقا وبعيدة المدى من أجل توسيع قوتها الناعمه.

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waberio.mohamed Apr 18, 2018

Journalists, academics, politicians, and other influential people were also the same categories of society which falled in the trap of communist and socialist ideology in the past in Latin America. Ideology that impoverished this region. The same is true about Africa. Wish new generation of entrepreneurs and politicians will resist this and create a more market oriented economies based on the rule of law.
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j. von Hettlingen Apr 17, 2018

Juan Pablo Cardenal is concerned about how China is seeking to expand its geopolitical clout in Latin America. While the US under Trump alienates the region, and he labels Latinos “bad hombres,” China sees opportunity. Trump has no love for South America, and he cancelled his attendance at the Summit of the Americas, in Peru last week, citing the Syrian crisis. Xi Jinping has visited Latin America three times since 2012, hailing a “vibrant and promising region” that – with China’s help – was “embracing another golden period of development”.
Apart from investing heavily in the region, China – it is now the largest trading partner of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru –resorts to the strategy of “sharp” power to promote “personal and institutional engagement, cooperation, and exchanges with Latin American elites in four main areas: media, culture, academia, and politics.” Beijing goes to great lengths to woo students and professionals from Latin America, offering them scholarships and training programmes. Chinese hosts pamper visiting “political figures, academics, journalists, high-ranking government officials, ex-diplomats, and others” with luxurious five-star accommodation and VIP treatment etc.
During his visit to Latin America in February before he was fired, Rex Tillerson lectured countries on China’s “imperial” menace. Trump’s own hawkishness towards China was widely known during his 2016 campaign. In the December 2017 National Security Strategy papers, Trump defended the Monroe doctrine, and attacked Chinese efforts “to pull the region into its orbit through state-led investments and loans”. In January’s State of the Union address, Trump labelled Beijing a “rival” endangering America’s interests, economy and values.
What worries the author is that the elites – targets of Chinese charm offensive – are too easily impressed by the pace of China’s economc growth and its resilience to the 2008 economic crisis. They are keen to be in Beijing’s good books, saying “they have nothing to fear from its engagement in their countries.” They are also convinced that “development without democracy is possible.” Not only do they take an extremely “benign” view of China, they are also Beijing’s “cheerleaders” and its mouthpiece, celebrating China “as a valuable source of investments, loans, and market opportunities.”
Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy venture, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a $900bn infrastructure project linking China to Europe and Africa across Asia, is designed mainly to cement Beijing’s position as a global force. During a summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in Chile earlier this year, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, announced that China formally include his hosts in the BRI. This spree of China-sponsored projects has become a source of considerable concern and anxiety for Washington.
The author says, while China is eager to exploit its economic opportunities in Latin America, many in the region are unware of Beijing’s “asymmetric relationships with many of its trading partners, and the stark terms of Chinese loans, which have left many borrowers mired in a debt trap. “ They have no idea of the “labor conditions at China’s overseas projects, not to mention their environmental and social impact.” They should also know “about the intensifying domestic repression” in China under Xi. The more the Chinese invest, the more they want to bolster their influence to protect their investments. For this reason, Beijing seeks to groom “current and future leaders,” who are “typically handpicked by the Chinese leadership.”
The author says no doubt “Chinese engagement has brought major opportunities to Latin America. But the risks cannot and should not be ignored.” People in the region must have “a clear-eyed assessment of the potential pitfalls of engagement. Otherwise, Latin America may soon find itself paying a high price for its blurred vision.” The question is whether China would be able to recoup its investments in a region with a history of debt? Even though Beijing exercises patience and focuses on long-term policy targets, without intervening in domestic affairs, like imposing austerity measures, but lending without condition would only encourage Latin American governments to spend without bounds, sowing the seeds for future debt problems.
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Godfree Roberts Apr 17, 2018

"The elites whom China is courting as part of its efforts to expand its influence have a responsibility to provide a clear-eyed assessment of the potential pitfalls of engagement."

Those elites never provided a clear-eyed assessment of the potential pitfalls of engagement with the USA (poverty and violence). Why should we expect them to provide such an assessment now?
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