China’s new foray into Latin America

Beijing maintains extensive party-to-party ties with political parties across the continent. Led by the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department, this active feature of Chinese diplomacy abroad goes unpublicised.

Military ties are extensive, but quiet. Four members of China’s leading Central Military Commission visited the continent in the last two years - more than any other region in the world - while a steady stream of Latin defence ministers visit Beijing. China also trains Latin officers in its staff academies and sells arms to Latin countries: helicopters, artillery, anti-air and anti-ship missiles and light assault weapons, while buying anti-tank, anti-air missiles and avionics from Brazil.

Educational exchanges are needed, as Latin publics and governments remain woefully unknowledgeable about China. Only two bona fide university programs in Chinese studies exist in the region - Mexico City and Buenos Aires. Beijing’s community of Latin American experts in universities, think tanks and government far outstrip their Latin counterparts, and the dearth of expertise means that Latin governments lack Chinese speakers and specialists to cope with Beijing’s blitz into the region.

So China develops cultural ties, establishing six Confucius Institutes across the region and providing 100 university scholarships for South American students each year. People-to-people exchanges are also growing: Chinese tourists pour into Latin America, as the result of 19 group tourism accords. Peru, Brazil and Argentina have large indigenous ethnic Chinese communities, totalling perhaps one million, who are increasingly involved in China trade. Ethnic Chinese already dominate certain sectors of local economies, such as supermarkets and retail sales in Argentina.

While ties expand rapidly in many spheres, not all is positive from the Latin American perspective. Having unwittingly received “market economy status” from more than half of Latin countries, Chinese goods are dumped without duties into many markets, with Mexico and Argentina particularly hard hit by China’s flood of low-end manufacture exports. As a result, as in other parts of the world, anti-China sentiments are rising in the region.

Positive or negative, China’s presence in Latin America is here to stay. While Western specialists on Latin America have been quicker than China watchers to notice this phenomenon, it merits careful monitoring by the region’s own, albeit very few, China specialists. If Latin American countries do not develop their own expertise, they cannot deal with the multiple challenges China will present in the coming years.