The region's largest countries have attracted Chinese investment in agricultural commodities as well as in ecommerce and other technology, including surveillance technology.
Its trade with the region has risen from $18 billion in 2002 to $180 billion in 2010 and to $450 billion last year. LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty ImagesĬhina has become the top trading partner for many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and is second-biggest, behind the US, for the region as a whole. Laura Richardson said China comes to the region "with very sophisticated plans in order to capture the interests of the countries, willing to loan billions of dollars."Ĭhinese President Xi Jinping, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, and their wives by a Chinese ship in the Panama Canal, December 3, 2018.
US officials and lawmakers have for years voiced concern about growing US influence in Latin America.įor military and national-security leaders, that influence has security implications for the US.ĭespite US warnings about dealing with China, many leaders in the region see little on offer from the US.Īs the US increases its focus on global competition with China, officials have singled out Beijing's inroads into Latin America as a growing threat to countries there and to US interests in the region.Īt recent congressional hearings and public events, those officials have cautioned that China is investing in digital and physical infrastructure, natural resources and extractive industries, and in political and military relationships across Latin America and the Caribbean in a multipronged effort to secure access and influence and gain leverage over countries there in order to advance its own commercial and strategic interests.Īlthough China's engagement with the region has focused on economic ties and it has not established a military presence there, US military commanders, national-security officials, and lawmakers believe Beijing's investments have implications for US security.Īt an August 2021 hearing on her nomination to lead US Southern Command, which is responsible for Central and South America, Gen. Chinese residents in Argentina await Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival before the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Buenos Aires, November 29, 2018.
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