South American Economics/China-Latin American Relations Thread

[Strangelove]

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China, Latin America set to deepen cooperation in technology, satellite communications: FM

By Global Times Published: Sep 08, 2022 08:06 PM

Engineers conduct maintenance work at a floating solar farm in Panji District of Huainan City, east China's Anhui Province, July 20, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

China stands ready to further enhance and expand practical cooperation with Latin American countries, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, after the two sides recently agreed to deepen cooperation in areas such as technology and satellite communications.

China-Latin America cooperation has been continuing to expand in a growing number of areas in recent years, despite some external factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the US' intensifying attempt to undermine China-Latin America ties.

"From jointly guaranteeing food security to mutual access to each other's markets for unique agricultural, animal husbandry and fishery products, cooperation between China and Latin America has not been hindered by distance, but instead has yielded fruitful results," Mao Ning, the spokesperson, told a briefing in Beijing.

At the briefing, Mao highlighted agreements and consensus reached by the two sides at the China-LAC Scientific and Technological Innovation Forum held online last week to expand cooperation in various areas.

The Ministry of Science and Technology of China signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the relevant scientific and technological departments of Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote the construction of a sustainable food innovation center.

During the forum, the two sides also agreed to continue to deepen cooperation in clean energy, digital technology, agricultural science and technology, satellite communications and other fields, according to Mao.

More than 20 representatives of scientific and technological authorities of Latin American and Caribbean countries attended the meeting online. Representatives expressed strong expectations for strengthening China-Latin America cooperation in agricultural technology, the digital economy and technology-enabled development.

The tech forum has become one of the most important platforms for China and Latin American and Caribbean countries to understand their cooperation needs, share best practices, build development consensus, and strengthen scientific and technological relations, said Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology of China, according to people.com.cn on Thursday.

Last year, trade between China and Latin America exceeded $450 billion for the first time. China built and put into use more than 100 infrastructure facilities in Latin America from 2005 to 2020, creating more than 600,000 local jobs, according to the spokesperson on Thursday.

China and Latin America has successfully held the third Ministers' Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, and reached a new broad consensus on deepening China-Latin America strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation in the next three years, Mao said.

Latin American countries are also actively seeking to expand cooperation with China.

Manuel Tovar Rivera, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, said at the official WeChat account of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) on Thursday that Costa Rica seeks more opportunities to enter the Chinese market and promote trade between the two countries. The CIIE has played a crucial role in this effort.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Costa Rica.

 

[Maikeru]

Tucker Carlson has made a video on the Chinese "takeover" of Brazil.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1571907789881999362

 

[Strangelove]

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China, Argentina pledge to promote community with shared future

Updated 18:47, 29-Sep-2022

A forum promoting cultural exchanges between China and Argentina was held in Beijing on Wednesday with senior officials from both countries pledging to advance the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The China-Argentina High-Level Forum on Cultural Exchanges comes as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez sent congratulatory letters to the forum.

For half a century, China-Argentina relations have endured tests posed by the changing international environment, exemplifying the unity and mutual development between developing countries and emerging economies, Xi said in his letter.

Noting the comprehensive and rapid development of bilateral ties reflects the vitality of China-Latin America relations, Xi voiced the hope that participants of the forum will pool their wisdom and build a consensus to help write a new chapter in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for China and Latin America and mankind in the new era.

Fernandez said the much accomplished media cooperation between the two countries has raised mutual understanding between the two peoples, and he looks forward to the deepening of bilateral cooperation so as to further strengthen the China-Argentina strategic comprehensive partnership.

Over 100 representatives from China and Argentina attended the forum, which was jointly hosted by China Media Group and Argentina's Public Media of the Nation. It was one of a series of events in 2022 marking the friendship between the two countries.

The many understandings reached between the two countries, such as a cooperation agreement between Argentina's Buenos Aires Province and China's Sichuan Province, will further upgrade bilateral trade and financial collaboration, Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said at the forum.

Buenos Aires and Sichuan are important economic provinces, Cafiero said, adding that their collaboration marks a great achievement in the China-Argentina strategic comprehensive partnership.

Fruitful cooperation, exchanges

China and Argentina established diplomatic ties in March 1972. Under the principles of the non-aligned movement, the two countries made significant progress in their pursuit of a cooperative agenda.

In 2004, the two countries signed a series of agreements, drastically boosting economic cooperation. Bilateral trade has grown rapidly during the past two decades, with China becoming Argentina's biggest trading partner in April 2020.

In November 2018, President Xi paid a state visit to Argentina where he also attended the Group of 20 Summit. Over 30 agriculture and investment deals were announced during that visit.

In a letter addressed to Xi in January 2022, Fernandez said countries should be united, respect and support each other against the pandemic disruptions, and commit to building a community with a shared future for mankind, a concept proposed by the Chinese president.

Fernandez later attended the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where Chinese and Argentine officials also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making the Latin American country an official BRI partner.

In addition to the MoU, the two countries also signed cooperation documents in over 10 areas, including green development, the digital economy, aerospace, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, technological innovation and agriculture.

 

[Strangelove]

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China, El Salvador ready to start FTA negotiations: commerce ministry

By Global Times Published: Nov 10, 2022 01:20 PM Updated: Nov 10, 2022 01:11 PM

Commerce Ministry

China and El Salvador are ready to launch the relevant process of bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiation at an early date and make joint efforts for the early conclusion of a deal, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday.

"In recent years, bilateral trade has grown substantially, which fully demonstrates the resilience and potential of bilateral economic and trade cooperation," the MOFCOM spokesperson said.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and El Salvador, the two sides, in accordance with the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, have effectively pushed for deeper, more solid and fruitful economic and trade cooperation in various fields, the spokesperson noted.

The remarks from the MOFCOM spokesperson were in response to a question on given the El Salvador government abolished the "FTA" with the island of Taiwan, what is the China's plan on deepening the economic and trade cooperation with El Salvador going forward?

Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, said the country will continue to promote diplomatic relations with sister countries such as China, read a statement released by the Information Secretariat of the President of the Republic of El Salvador on Wednesday.

"We have started negotiations in order to sign the FTA between China and El Salvador as soon as possible," said Bukele, adding that the FTA will generate economic opportunities for businessmen, entrepreneurs and all productive sectors in the country.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (R) announces the start of negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement with the People's Republic of China on November 9, 2022. Chinese Ambassador to El Salvador Ou Jianhong (L) confirms the announcement. Photo: Information Secretariat of the President of the Republic of El Salvador

The Chinese ambassador to El Salvador Ou Jianhong tweeted on Thursday that "we believe that the future China-El Salvador FTA will benefit the two countries and peoples."

"The Chinese side is willing to work hand in hand with the Salvadoran side, in order to promote prompt negotiations, in order to unite the economic, commercial and investment ties on the two countries," said the diplomat.

China and El Salvador established diplomatic relations on August 21, 2018 signing a joint communique.

Over the past four years, China and El Salvador have witnessed fruitful results. For instance, China's assistance projects to El Salvador have made progress in stages.

It is expected that the construction of the Port of La Libertad will be completed at the beginning of next year. The work of the National Library in El Salvador has begun, and the design plan for the National Stadium and its construction are about to begin, Ou said in August at an event celebrating the 4th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and El Salvador.

Once completed, these works will bring concrete benefits to the Salvadoran people, she noted.

From October 23 onward, citizens of the People's Republic of China holding valid diplomatic, official or service ordinary passports and citizens of the Republic of El Salvador holding valid diplomatic or official passports shall be exempted from visa application for entry, exit or transit of the other country within 90 days from the date of entry, according to the country's most recent policy announcement.

 

[Strangelove]

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More investment, less interference: How China moves into 'the US's hemisphere'​

After decades of abuse by Washington, some Latin American countries seem to find Beijing’s approach attractive

By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst

As a Forbes

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sets out, China’s “list of Latin American inroads is long and striking” and “Washington has yet to manage much of a response.” It goes on to note that in the 21 years that have passed since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), “Chinese trade with Latin America has increased at a striking 31% annual rate on average to the equivalent of about $450 billion a year.”
China is now “South America’s largest trading partner and is second only to the United States for trade with all Latin America.” It has “signed free trade agreements with three countries, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru and began negotiations with Ecuador last February.”
This is all happening in a region where, as the article describes it, the US “has exercised all but untrammeled hegemony.” For nearly 200 years, in fact, the United States has made unparalleled dominance of the Americas one of its core security and foreign policy objectives, under what is known as The Monroe Doctrine. To do so, it has launched an endless string of wars, coups, and other forms of political interference.

But that isn’t stopping the countries of the region from tilting towards China. American dominance has not equated to prosperity or stability for practically any Latin America country. In fact, it has often meant poverty, inequality, and chaos. While Beijing has no specific plans to ‘politically dominate’ Latin America, the growing ties between the two regions of the world are a product of the South American continent being shafted by brutal neoliberalism for decades – the same reason that is driving a tidal wave of leftist governments into power in country after country. Brazil’s new president Lula is but the latest example, and he takes over a country facing a deep economic decline. There is no doubt he will be enhancing his partnership with China as a part of BRICS.

To Latin American countries, the United States is not a guardian or a benevolent overseer but an abusive partner who does not care about their respective interests. The US’s bid to hold power in the Western hemisphere (which American officials have a habit of calling “our” hemisphere) comes with a belief that to suit the US, its neigbours should stay poor, divided, and weak. Can one imagine, for example, Brazil being allowed to rise and become a wealthy state that can challenge US economic and military power? South America has also been a ‘guinea pig’ for US-led economic exploitation and the forced imposition of free market radicalism, particularly in the 1980s with the IMF. This is, of course, advantageous to American companies, whose dominance and capital prevent local economies from truly developing or competing. The lack of life prospects subsequently creates a ‘brain drain’ of talent immigrating to the US itself.
China’s foreign policy, however, is different. While the United States has largely focused on ‘opening’ up the markets of other countries to dominate them, Beijing depicts itself as providing a mutual pathway to development by lending expertise from its own model and what it describes as “win-win” cooperation. To do so, China offers market access to its enormous consumer base of 1.4 billion people, while offering loans and expertise from state companies to rapidly assemble infrastructure, such as in energy and transport, without political conditions. These are benefits that the United States and its allies, due to ideological and structural differences, simply cannot compete in providing.

China's investment does not come completely without political strings attached. Beijing refuses to deal with governments that recognize Taiwan as independent, and over the past 20 years, many Latin American countries have withdrawn such recognition. These nations have apparently found doing so less consequential than the more direct and disruptive influence of their much nearer northern neighbour – or have shown a basic grasp of national sovereignty and non-interference, an understanding they have not seen from Washington.

As the Forbes article goes on to note: “Apart from direct loans to governments, most Chinese investment has concentrated on energy development, petroleum refining, and power generation. Presently, Power China has 50 ongoing projects across 15 Latin American countries.” Since the US placed China as its number one geopolitical rival, it has long sought to provide an “alternative” to the Belt and Road initiative, vowing to invest billions in infrastructure across developing countries.

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was the latest Latin American country to join Belt and Road, having done so at the beginning of this year. One of the key projects the two countries will work together on is a

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The alternatives offered by the US and other G7 countries have largely been rhetorical, over-reliant on the good will of the private sector, and marketed under a never-ending cycle of changing names and rhetorical soundbites, from the “blue dot network” to “Build Back Better” to the “

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.” Few of them ever seem to stick, whereas Belt and Road is a comprehensive and clearly detailed vision with consistency in what it wants to achieve. China can market its advantages, while the US has no other cause, motivation, or vision other than to simply oppose what China is doing. Therefore, it has never made a compelling case for Latin American countries to cease partnering with Beijing.

Given the above, if the US is serious about competing with China in Latin America it should try less political interference and more investment. Two centuries of US interventions and regime changes have not made a prosperous or satisfied continent, but have left a myriad of stagnant economies that have never surpassed what is known as the ‘middle-income trap’ due to political-economic systems that entrench the status quo, or in the case of Cuba and Venezuela, are constantly crushed by sanctions. Beijing offers a strong and consistent alternative, one which comes with market access, infrastructure investment, and a plan for the future. That’s hard to argue against.

 

[luminary]

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The “Most Chinese Country” in Latin America

For the moment, this “war” of which Jalife speaks is rather one-sided, given that China, unlike the US, does not tend to meddle in internal politics in the region, or at least hasn’t until now. As Alexander Moldovan, a researcher on social movements and security in Latin America at York University, told Turkish state broadcaster

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, China’s approach generally respects national sovereignty (as long as you’re not Tibetan or Taiwanese), and as such is popular among both right-wing populists and left-wing leaders alike. Instead, it lets the money do the talking.

As Peru’s ambassador to China Luis Quesada

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Dialogo China in July this year, Peru is the second largest destination for Chinese investment in Latin America, behind only Brazil. It is home to the only port in Latin America that is managed entirely by Chinese capital. An alliance of Chinese state-owned companies, including Cosco Shipping, has invested $3 billion in the recently finished Chancay Port. Located 50 miles north of Lima, the port is expected to become a vital hub for trade between East Asia and South America.

This probably did not go down well with Peru’s second largest trading partner, the United States, which has a long, ongoing history of organizing or lending its blessing to coups against left-leaning governments in Latin America. In 2019, the US gave its support to a right-wing coup against Bolivia’s then-President Evo Morales.

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Morales, who ended up receiving asylum in Mexico and later Argentina, the main reason for his removal from office was commercial interests in the lithium sector, including seemingly TESLA whose CEO Elon Musk famously tweeted: “We will coup whoever we want. Deal with it!”

EU and US Interest in Latin America region is on the rise as the race for lithium, copper, cobalt and other elements essential for the so-called “clean” energy transition heats up. It is a race that China has been winning prettily handily until now.

And while Peru may not form part of the Lithium Triangle (Bolivia, Argentina and Chile), it does boast significant deposits of the white metal. By

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, it is home to the sixth largest deposits of hard-rock lithium in the world. It is also the world’s second largest producer of copper, zinc and silver, three metals that are also expected to play a major role in supporting renewable energy technologies.

Given as much, the rumours of another coup in Peru should hardly come as a surprise. Nor should the Biden administration’s recent appointment of a CIA veteran as US ambassador to Peru, as recently reported by Vijay Prashad and José Carlos Llerena Robles:

Her name is Lisa Kenna, a former adviser to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a nine-year veteran at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and a US secretary of state official in Iraq. Just before the election, Ambassador Kenna released a video, in which she spoke of the close ties between the United States and Peru and of the need for a peaceful transition from one president to another.

And it seems that Kenna may have played a key role in setting things in motion. As Jalife notes in his talk, she had a “conspicuous” meeting with Peru’s Defense Minister Gustavo Bobbio Rosas on December 6, just a day day before Peru’s democratically elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo was ousted in an internal coup spearheaded by then-Vice President and now President Dina Baluarte.

Naturally, the US government has lent its full support to the Boluarte regime, which from the get-go declared a nationwide “state of emergency.” The new government has so far deployed 140,000 soldiers to the streets in an attempt to crush nationwide protests. Twenty-seven protesters have so far perished in the resulting bloodbath. The protests appear to have coalesced around a number of demands:

• Boluarte’s immediate resignation
• The release of Pedro Castillo as well as full disclosure of what happened on December 7
• New elections (Peru’s Congress has committed to hold fresh general elections but not until April 2024)
• A national referendum on forming a Constitutional Assembly to replace Peru’s current constitution, which was imposed by Alberto Fujimori following his self-imposed coup of 1992.

By contrast, many governments in Latin America have criticized or even refused to recognize Peru’s unelected coup regime, including Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, Cuba, and various Caribbean nations.* Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (aka AMLO), who is scheduled to meet President Joe Biden on Jan 9, has even

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of US involvement in the coup.

Doubts remain as to how long Boluarte’s government will be able to cling to power. Given her government has zero democratic legitimacy, it is unlikely to hang on until the scheduled elections in 2024. As happened with Castillo’s government, its ministers are already falling like flies.

If Boluarte herself were to fall, she would be replaced by the president of Congress, a position that has been occupied since September by José Williams Zapata, a former military general who

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to the Tijuana drug cartel in Mexico and is suspected of covering up the Accomarca massacre (1985), one of the most notorious examples of human rights violations by the Peruvian state during the country’s 20 years of terrorism insurgency.

 

[luminary]

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The “Most Chinese Country” in Latin America

For the moment, this “war” of which Jalife speaks is rather one-sided, given that China, unlike the US, does not tend to meddle in internal politics in the region, or at least hasn’t until now. As Alexander Moldovan, a researcher on social movements and security in Latin America at York University, told Turkish state broadcaster

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, China’s approach generally respects national sovereignty (as long as you’re not Tibetan or Taiwanese), and as such is popular among both right-wing populists and left-wing leaders alike. Instead, it lets the money do the talking.

As Peru’s ambassador to China Luis Quesada

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Dialogo China in July this year, Peru is the second largest destination for Chinese investment in Latin America, behind only Brazil. It is home to the only port in Latin America that is managed entirely by Chinese capital. An alliance of Chinese state-owned companies, including Cosco Shipping, has invested $3 billion in the recently finished Chancay Port. Located 50 miles north of Lima, the port is expected to become a vital hub for trade between East Asia and South America.

This probably did not go down well with Peru’s second largest trading partner, the United States, which has a long, ongoing history of organizing or lending its blessing to coups against left-leaning governments in Latin America. In 2019, the US gave its support to a right-wing coup against Bolivia’s then-President Evo Morales.

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Morales, who ended up receiving asylum in Mexico and later Argentina, the main reason for his removal from office was commercial interests in the lithium sector, including seemingly TESLA whose CEO Elon Musk famously tweeted: “We will coup whoever we want. Deal with it!”

EU and US Interest in Latin America region is on the rise as the race for lithium, copper, cobalt and other elements essential for the so-called “clean” energy transition heats up. It is a race that China has been winning prettily handily until now.

And while Peru may not form part of the Lithium Triangle (Bolivia, Argentina and Chile), it does boast significant deposits of the white metal. By

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

, it is home to the sixth largest deposits of hard-rock lithium in the world. It is also the world’s second largest producer of copper, zinc and silver, three metals that are also expected to play a major role in supporting renewable energy technologies.

Given as much, the rumours of another coup in Peru should hardly come as a surprise. Nor should the Biden administration’s recent appointment of a CIA veteran as US ambassador to Peru, as recently reported by Vijay Prashad and José Carlos Llerena Robles:

Her name is Lisa Kenna, a former adviser to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a nine-year veteran at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and a US secretary of state official in Iraq. Just before the election, Ambassador Kenna released a video, in which she spoke of the close ties between the United States and Peru and of the need for a peaceful transition from one president to another.

And it seems that Kenna may have played a key role in setting things in motion. As Jalife notes in his talk, she had a “conspicuous” meeting with Peru’s Defense Minister Gustavo Bobbio Rosas on December 6, just a day day before Peru’s democratically elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo was ousted in an internal coup spearheaded by then-Vice President and now President Dina Baluarte.

Naturally, the US government has lent its full support to the Boluarte regime, which from the get-go declared a nationwide “state of emergency.” The new government has so far deployed 140,000 soldiers to the streets in an attempt to crush nationwide protests. Twenty-seven protesters have so far perished in the resulting bloodbath. The protests appear to have coalesced around a number of demands:

• Boluarte’s immediate resignation
• The release of Pedro Castillo as well as full disclosure of what happened on December 7
• New elections (Peru’s Congress has committed to hold fresh general elections but not until April 2024)
• A national referendum on forming a Constitutional Assembly to replace Peru’s current constitution, which was imposed by Alberto Fujimori following his self-imposed coup of 1992.

By contrast, many governments in Latin America have criticized or even refused to recognize Peru’s unelected coup regime, including Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, Cuba, and various Caribbean nations.* Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (aka AMLO), who is scheduled to meet President Joe Biden on Jan 9, has even

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of US involvement in the coup.

Doubts remain as to how long Boluarte’s government will be able to cling to power. Given her government has zero democratic legitimacy, it is unlikely to hang on until the scheduled elections in 2024. As happened with Castillo’s government, its ministers are already falling like flies.

If Boluarte herself were to fall, she would be replaced by the president of Congress, a position that has been occupied since September by José Williams Zapata, a former military general who

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to the Tijuana drug cartel in Mexico and is suspected of covering up the Accomarca massacre (1985), one of the most notorious examples of human rights violations by the Peruvian state during the country’s 20 years of terrorism insurgency.

There's a comment on the article from a Peruvian replier that I like:
"While the tile is really compelling, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence in the piece to indicate a conflict between the US and China in Peru. Rather, this seems to follow the familiar pattern of America “waging a war” against China, while the latter goes about its business.

The trade figures listed above, to indicate a conflict between the US and China, aren’t the result of a specific Chinese challenge to US regional dominance. They are the result of organically grown trade relations- China has demand for LatAm goods which exceed that of the US. Additionally, China has both the financial and physical capital to develop more efficient infrastructure to manage this trade, the US seems to lack both. Aiding the corrupt Peruvian elite in their internal conflict doesn’t give the US any marginal political benefit, these people are already spiritually American (or at least DeSantis voters), and they still do and will continue to do business with China, because they pay better.

This American inability to pay, coupled with the self-inflicted diplomatic wounds of this and other meddlesome and useless interferences, will diminish future American capacity in the region. Mexico has settled comfortably into the role of our regional foil; and while Lula seems to be keeping quiet, it is because he knows Brazil is “worth a mass”, and he needs to be in power and clean house before making any proclamations."

Additional thought:
China might want to consider expanding their peacekeeping missions/pacts into LatAm if they don't want to see their investments all washed away/reset by USG-backed coups. We've already lost a few investments due to conflicts stirred up by Africom. Although any military in the US's "backyard" might give those in Washington aneurysms.

 

[luminary]

Aneurysm already happened:

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Argentina had a formidable military during the late 1970s, but the Falklands defeat led to massive underinvestment and a decrease in defense capabilities. Nevertheless UK continues to resist Argentine military modernization attempts. Hostility reached its peak in 2019 with the veto of Argentina’s purchase of FA-50 jets from South Korea because these aircraft have UK-manufactured Martin Baker ejection seats. Likewise with the Argentine navy and replacement of Super Etendards from France but similarly equipped.

The UK’s resistance to Argentine military modernization and advancement pushed Argentina into the hands of China. Argentina engaged with China in 2021 to evaluate Sino-Pakistani JF-17 fighters. .

US offered surplus Danish F16/A/Bs to Colombia and Argentina in 2020 and is negotiating with the UK to approve the sale. Selling 1980s vintage F-16 A/Bs with modest modernization will strengthen Argentina’s military capabilities. Oversight of this venture is jointly shared by the State Department, U.S. Southern Command, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and the Secretary of the Air Force/International Affairs. The U.S. relationship with Argentina can ensure a measure of renewed prominence and a future generation of well-trained Argentine military aviators.

Argentina is one of many pieces to China’s plan for South America. China intends to develop a military base in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Bata shares the same advantages Ascension did for the UK during the Falklands War. Closer Sino-Argentine cooperation will allow the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to impose higher defense costs on the UK to defend the Falklands, potentially drawing its nascent carrier strike and submarine force away from supporting U.S., NATO, and Indo-Pacific operations. Hence, the United States should convince the UK that it is time to reconsider its arms embargo with Argentina. A minor investment in a perceived tertiary theater can go a long way in closing the goalmouth to China, concludes the US Naval Institute report.

 

[Strangelove]

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China, Ecuador proceed well on FTA negotiations

By Qi Xijia Published: Jan 04, 2023 08:59 PM

A truck carrying containers is seen at the container dock of Shanghai's Yangshan Port in east China, April 27, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

The negotiations between China and Ecuador on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) have proceeded smoothly, Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday during a press conference.

The response came after the ministry was asked if it could confirm that the two countries may sign an FTA.

With the deal, Ecuador's exports will get preferential access to China, and the South American country's manufacturers will be able to acquire machinery and other products at a lower cost.

The agreement will allow preferential access for 99 percent of Ecuador's exports to China, especially agricultural products such as shrimps, bananas, roses and flowers, cocoa and coffee, Ecuador's production ministry said in a statement.

Jiang Shixue, professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, said that the deal gives full play to the economic complementarities of both countries.

"It will help Ecuador's agricultural products get easier access to the massive Chinese market," Jiang told the Global Times on Wednesday.

For China, Ecuador offers an opportunity to diversify sources of strategic minerals, such as copper and iron ore, Jiang said. "It is expected that more Chinese companies will expand investment in Ecuador following the agreement," Jiang said.

China and Ecuador began negotiations in February 2022, according to Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Bilateral trade rose by 44.5 percent to reach $10.95 billion in 2021 and China remained the second-largest trading partner for Ecuador.

Ecuador is an important partner of China in investment and trade in Latin America. Their cooperation covers a wide range of areas, including electricity, energy, mining and transportation.

The FTA deal would also have a spillover effect to deepen cooperation between China and other Latin American countries, Jiang said.

The conclusion of the China-Ecuador free trade negotiations comes as the latest FTA deal between China and a Latin American country.

China previously signed free trade agreements with Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

In October 2006, the China-Chile FTA came into effect, the first free trade agreement signed between China and a Latin American country. Subsequently, the China-Peru FTA entered into force in March 2010, and the China-Costa Rica FTA went into effect in August 2011.

Since the agreements took effect, the three countries have seen their annual exports to China grow by double-digits, according to the MOFCOM.

 

[Strangelove]

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Argentina and China expand currency swap deal – media​

China and Argentina have formalized the expansion of a currency swap deal, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing the Central Bank of Argentina. The step is expected to boost the South American nation's drained forex reserves.

China is currently Argentina’s second largest trade partner after Brazil, and the second biggest destination for Argentinian exports.
The currency swap agreement allows Argentinian companies that export to China to make settlements in yuan or dollars, which eases the outflow of foreign currency from the central bank.

Argentina’s Central Bank Governor Miguel Pesce and his Chinese counterpart Yi Gang “confirmed that the deal for the swap of currencies between both institutions has been activated and committed to deepening the use of (the Chinese yuan) in the Argentine market,” the statement seen by the news agency reads.

The chiefs of the Argentinian and Chinese monetary regulators met during the Bimonthly Meeting of Central Bank Governors hosted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland.

According to the document, the procedure “comprises the exchange of currency for reinforcement of international reserves of 130 billion yuan and a special activation of 35 billion yuan to compensate operations on the foreign exchange market.”
The deal was announced in November after months of negotiations. Back then, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said it was worth $5 billion.

Argentina's government needs to rebuild reserves to cover trade costs and future debt repayments, as more reserves are a key objective of a major debt deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).