The announcement of a USD 3.5 billion credit line to help Ecuador pay off its debt to China hinted toward a confrontational approach of the recently formed U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to Chinese finance in Latin America. While foreign policy is admittedly low among voter concerns ahead of Ecuador’s presidential elections on Sunday, the DFC loan puts the leading candidates’ choice of partner in even sharper focus, with the country in need of international support to recover from the pandemic.
Signed by outgoing President Lenin Moreno, the DFC loan is conditioned to Ecuador excluding Chinese technology...