This week, how the Latin America-China relationship is evolving. And Brazil’s major accomplishment in space research.
China changing its relationship with Latin America
During the commodities boom of the 2000s, Chinese state-owned banks became a major source of funding for Latin American countries — and for the most fragile economies, they represented a financial lifeline. However, new research from Boston University and the Inter-American Dialogue, a U.S.-based think tank, suggests that this could be a bygone era.
- Financing commitments to Latin American countries by China’s two main lenders — the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM) — fell consistently since 2015. Last year, there were none whatsoever.
Loner. One major loan package remains in negotiation: a USD 2.4 billion credit line for Ecuador, in exchange for 154 million barrels of oil, co-financed by the CDB and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The deal was first announced in the summer of 2020, but has yet to be signed.
Why it matters. This inflection is not a sign that China is abandoning its influence in the region. In fact, the country is altering how it pours money into Latin America.
- The report shows that...