Viewpoint: Why China’s Advance in Latin America Matters
1/27/2021
By Dr. R. Evan Ellis
China’s expanding presence and influence in Latin America is now widely recognized by political and business leaders and security professionals.
In the last two decades, the nation’s trade with the region has expanded 18-fold to $314 billion, while its companies have become important partners and suppliers for firms operating there and key owners and operators of the region’s oilfields, mines, ports, telecommunications and electricity grids.
In the security sphere, the People’s Liberation Army has become increasingly active in the region, sending military police to the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti for eight years, deploying its hospital ship on three separate occasions, regularly sending its warships for “friendly†port calls and military exercises, participating in elite training programs such as Brazil’s jungle warfare school and the Lanceros course in Colombia, hosting the region’s military and police officers in China, and making countless institutional visits.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/1/27/viewpoint-why-chinas-advance-in-latin-america-matters
