Since 2005, China's three largest state investment banks have loaned some US$140B to countries in Latin American to pay for everything from nuclear power stations to dams, roads to railways, ports and phone networks.
Chinese trade with Latin America
1/n dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
Chinese trade with Latin America
1/n dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
has shot up more than 25 times, rising from $12B in 2000 to $315B in 2020 as almost half of the countries in the region saw their largest trading partner flip from being the US to China - including 3 of the 4 largest economies, in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
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All of these gives China leverage that it uses to get its own way on the international stage, from winning votes at the UN to isolating its enemies - most notably Taiwan, as Beijing often requires countries to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan before it will hand over money.
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Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador all have debts with China >10% of their GDP, making them vulnerable to any changes in the terms of those loans. Several more Caribbean nations — such as Grenada and the Dominican Republic — are thought to be in similar position having taken
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tens of millions or billions in loans for projects, despite having small economies.
Venezuela is the largest recipient of Chinese loans ($62B), followed by Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia.
Notable Belt & Road partners include Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.
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Venezuela is the largest recipient of Chinese loans ($62B), followed by Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia.
Notable Belt & Road partners include Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.
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In Argentina, Chinese companies are constructing two major power plants — both hydroelectric dams in Patagonia — and are in consultation to build a third, a new nuclear power plant near Buenos Aires.
In Brazil, China Merchants Port has bought up a 90% stake in the country's
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In Brazil, China Merchants Port has bought up a 90% stake in the country's
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second-largest container port - the Port of Paranaguá - while money is also pouring into the country’s transport networks, including the construction of a $1.3B bridge between Salvador and the island of Itaparica.
Colombia's transport network is also being transformed by
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Colombia's transport network is also being transformed by
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the Chinese, which have secured contracts to build Bogota's new subway, a tram system linking the suburbs, an electric bus network and will refurbish a major highway in the country's south.
2 of Chile’s biggest energy networks have been bought up by China for $5B.
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2 of Chile’s biggest energy networks have been bought up by China for $5B.
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Cuba just signs a deal with China to upgrade its power network with a focus on renewables. China wrote off $6B in loans to Cuba during a debt restructuring in 2011.
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