Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday $250,000 million (mdd) in investments in Latin America over the next 10 years, as part of a campaign to increase Beijing's influence in a region long dominated by the United States.
Leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)—a bloc of 33 countries in the region that excludes the United States and Canada—met in Beijing on Thursday for the first time for a two-day forum.
Xi said in a speech that bilateral trade between China and Latin America is expected to increase to 500,000 mdd over the next decade.
«I believe this meeting will yield fruitful results, send a positive signal to the world about the deepening of cooperation between China and Latin America, and have a significant and far-reaching impact on promoting South-South cooperation and global prosperity,» Xi said.
China and Latin America cooperate in the areas of energy, infrastructure development, agriculture, manufacturing, and technological innovation, Xi said.
China is interested in the region because of its resources and markets, said Deng Yuwen, a political analyst in Beijing.
«Obviously, China intends to compete with the United States for greater influence in the region,» Deng said. «But it is difficult to say at this point whether this strategy will weaken U.S. influence,» he added.
Matt Ferchen, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, said that China's move would not alarm Washington, as improved ties between the United States and Cuba will strengthen U.S. influence.
«The reality of economic and social ties—person-to-person ties—between any country in the region and the United States is much deeper than anything that exists with China,» Ferchen said.
«The agreement with Cuba changes everything in terms of how the United States can set a positive agenda in the region,» he added.
China, the world's second-largest economy, is buying oil from Venezuela, copper from Peru and Chile, and soybeans from Argentina and Brazil.
In return, China has poured billions of dollars into investments in the region.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Wednesday that he had secured more than 20,000 mdd in investments from China, while Ecuador reported that it had obtained a total of 7,530 mdd in credit lines and loans from China.
«To echo what (former) President Hugo Chávez said, China is showing the world that a country does not necessarily seek hegemony as it becomes more powerful,» Maduro said in a speech that was translated into English.
Cooperation with the region continues even as many countries maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province. Of the 22 countries that still recognize Taiwan, 12 are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
