Exploring and keeping readers up to date with the growing economic and political ties between China and South America. Including all the good stuff: Commodities, Energy, International Finance, South-South Cooperation, Microfinance and more
Showing posts with label China South America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China South America. Show all posts
After over one year of ups and downs with Google's blogger, my loyalty to the tech giant is slowly fading as its service remains blocked in The People's Republic of China.
Adding insult to injury is this new limit on the number of tags / labels you can use when posting.
On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, as it had previously done so for Europe in 2003 and for Africa in 2006.
Although it may not come as a huge surprise that Latin America is the most recent region for which China has formally spelled out its foreign policy position, the region has been historically perceived as being under the United States’ sphere of influence. Perhaps the importance of the Chinese policy paper lies in the timing of its release. The release of the paper deliberately coincided with the unfolding of the current financial crisis; this congruence of events has allowed China to expand its influence in this somewhat neglected region without attracting any lasting venom from the U.S. China’s policy paper formally evidences the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean as part of China’s growth plan for its long-term strategic interests. Most of all, this includes access to raw materials as well as a plethora of natural resources, the infiltration of new foreign markets, the reduction of diplomatic support for the Republic of Taiwan, and the strengthening of Beijing political standing on the global stage through strong alliances cemented with the developing world. The policy paper’s general context
The policy paper explicitly states its main objective is to “clarify the goals of China’s policy in this region, outline the guiding principles for future cooperation […] and sustain the sound, steady and all-around growth of China’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.” In the economic realm, China expresses an interest in investing in energy, mineral resources, forestry, fishing and agriculture, areas important to expanding China’s productivity. Additionally, the Chinese government seems to show interest in infrastructure projects not directly related to its economy, albeit essential in the transportation of natural resources, and proposes to fund these projects in order to be perceived as a partner in development. Furthermore, China expresses its desire to increase military diplomacy and sale of equipment to the region. Although many of the report’s statements are merely rhetoric and general in scope, the paper helps formalize China’s economic, diplomatic and military ties with Latin America, which were first proposed by then President of China Jiang Zemin in 2001.
The policy paper was released against the backdrop of the current financial crisis and the corresponding economic hardships that have severely hit the U.S. and Europe. Its publication deliberately coincided with the emergency G-20 meeting to discuss the economic crisis that was about to take place in Washington. More importantly, it preceded Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Peru for the November 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, at which he presented China’s foreign policy towards Latin America. This timing of the paper’s release was especially important for the countries seeking to diversify their export markets and decrease their dependence on declining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the US and Europe. With the vast foreign reserves accumulated by China –which totalled US $1.95 trillion in December 2008– the region had valid reasons to closely follow the summit’s developments.
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China South America will be returning to cyber space tomorrow, Aug 11, 2009.
I apologize for the recent absence of updates, I have been traveling in China where access to sites such as this is limited.
We'll return to China South America's usual mix of current events relating to China & South America, commodity markets, micro finance and of course my own analysis and writing on the world.
I must apologize to all readers and internet surfers who have arrived at China South America in recent days to find that no updates had been made.
This blog was started in response to my personal interests in the following:
1- Sino-Latin American Foreign Policy; Economic and Political 2- Commodity Investment 3- Mining in South America 4- International Investment Opportunities 5- Microfinance in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia
Since graduating from American University in May 2008 with a degree in Economics I have been on a post-collegiate journey to find a greater purpose in life that can one day encompass some these interests.
Opportunity came a'knockin' and I now find myself a international businessman selling South American wines in China and Singapore.
Recent weeks have been particularly hectic with a few deals looming in the horizon this summer.
I promise to get back to the usual flow this weekend.
