5/16/2023 0 Comments Shutterstock alternativeChina does not promote an agenda to change the world, and the competition with the United States is of an inter-capitalist nature (Taylor, 2016), even if it is among different types of capitalism (Xing and Shaw, 2013).Ĭonsidering the debate, it is worth asking: is China an alternative for Latin America? Does the expansion of Chinese financing and cooperation contribute to Latin American development? This article intends to explore this question through a problematization of two areas where China’s presence was perceived as an alternative to Western organizations: loans and space cooperation.Ĭhina’s loans to Latin America became relevant starting from 2004 when Hu Jintao made a trip to the region, and Argentina, Brazil, and Chile recognized the country as a market economy (Jenkins, 2012). Moreover, they argue that extractivism – chiefly through mining, oil extraction, and monoculture farming – generates wealth concentration and does not lead to development. They highlight i) the asymmetrical trade relationship, resulting in new types of dependence (Jenkins, 2012 Svampa and Slipak, 2015) and ii) the formation of a new hegemony (Li, 2019). On the contrary, other scholars point out the reproduction of center-periphery dynamics, the reproduction of Latin America international insertion as an exporter of commodities and an importer of manufacture. Such authors argue that improving relations with China will contribute to Latin American countries’ development and a multipolar world order (Visentini, 2014 Vadell, 2019). Consequently, China promotes alternatives to the Bretton Woods system, resulting in increased Latin American autonomy. In academia, one branch of scholars points out that China-Latin American relations are different from US-Latin American relations because of i) South-South principles, such as non-involvement in internal affairs and sovereignty, ii) China’s alternative development model, and iii) the absence of policy conditionalities when it comes to loans (Nolte, 2013 Vadell, 2019). At the same time, relations with China became a theme for political debate in Latin America, being criticized by contenders, for example, during election periods in Argentina in 2015 and Brazil in 2018, when Maurício Macri and Jair Bolsonaro questioned partnerships with the Asian power. decision-makers have highlighted a new form of imperialism and affirmed the Chinese contempt for governance and democracy agendas. Chinese leaders affirm that the relationship is based on ‘mutual benefits,’ ‘common development,’ and ‘South-South cooperation,’ implying symmetric relations and joint gains. China’s growing involvement in Latin America – through trade, investments, loans, and infrastructure financing – has generated a vast debate about its consequences, both in academic literature and policymaking.
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