Is China Really Beating the U.S.? See How It’s Doing it in America’s Backyard: Latin America
By Oscar Cordon: oscarivan.cordon@gmail.com
Everybody knows that China is the new rich kid on the block. However, is China also beating the U.S. in the popularity contest? As the U.S. minds its own business dealing with internal politics, and fighting terrorism, China is starting to make new friends, and is about to become someone’s best friend: our next-door Latin American neighbors.
While America has always held a prominent role in economics and politics in the rest of the continent, its interaction with Latin America has always been the love-hate relationship type (similar to that job you hate so much, but still need to pay the bills) with good Uncle Sam. While the region doesn’t seem like a good bet for the moment, the U.S. retreats, and guess who steps into the party as we leave? Yep, China. China has traditionally been very distant to Latin America, both in economic and culture terms (after all, nobody eats their burrito with chopsticks, unless there’s something wrong with them), but ever since U.S. politics start threatening China’s trade and interests on American soil, they are now looking for greener grass, which according to China, happens to be in America’s backyard.
China has already done huge plans for the region, such as building a railroad crossing Brazil’s rainforest all the way to the Peruvian coast (easier way to transport Brazilian goods to Chinese soil), a new transoceanic canal in Nicaragua (Panama canal’s future rival), and even holding reunions for trade purposes with CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean nations, in Spanish), with no invitation for the U.S. China has a much more favorable reception in the region, with similar leftist governments and developing economies. While China is eager to drop cash on any cheap produce to feed its 1.4 billion people, Latin America is also seeking a trade partner that will invest in them after a bad recession in the region.
Although Latin America hasn’t been doing great lately, China is not as worried as the U.S. is. With increasing financing and power over the region, China will soon take over a big piece of the world with long-standing American influence, and who knows what will happen after this.
Looks like someone’s being left out of the conversation…
Through a Glass 