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Abstract
This paper critically analyses the political economy of the US-China rivalry in Latin America, China’s penetration into the region since the early 2000s, and Washington’s response. It argues that a new form of Cold War rivalry is brewing in an increasingly multi-polar world: one that is shaping geopolitics, trade, and security arrangements, as well as potential conflicts in a ‘transitional’ process of ‘21st century imperialism’ for control and influence, where the US still dominates but where China is favourably placed. As Latin American leaders have welcomed ‘outsiders’ into America’s ‘backyard’, a consistent pattern of Chinese investment and construction has followed. While economic development and aid from China was secured, it was believed that greater regional integration and independence from US imperialism would also follow. The question remains whether fostering a relationship with China has meant greater independence from imperialism, or whether it has led merely to its regional transformation.
Keywords:
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
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41 ‘The First UnionPay Premium Card in Latin America was Issued in Ecuador’, UnionPay International, 12 September 2019, https://m.unionpayintl.com/wap/en/mediaCenter/newsCenter/companyNews/5658.shtm. As the Ukraine crisis unfolds, UnionPay cards are being used in Russia. China is the clear winner in its rivalry with the US as it refrains from conflict and pursues an economic strategy to impose a multi-polar world order. And as the US refocuses on Russia after its disastrous wars in the Middle East, Latin America will continue to accommodate Chinese ambitions.
42 Shanghai Daily, "RMB Becomes More Frequently Used in Latin America’.
43 Shanghai Daily, ‘RMB Becomes More Frequently Used in Latin America’.
44 Jo Grady and Chris Grocott, The Continuing Imperialism of Free Trade: Developments, Trends and the Role of Supranational Agents, 1st ed, Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy (New York: Routledge, 2018).
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49 Reid, ‘Obama and Latin America: A Promising Day in the Neighborhood’.
50 ‘China Becomes Second Largest Trading Partner of Latin America’, Xinhuanet, 2018, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/29/c_137640261.htm.
51 ‘Fidel Castro’s Part in Shaping China’s Economic Link with Venezuela Revealed by Former Bank Governor’, South China Morning Post, 2019, https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3009569/fidel-castros-part-shaping-chinas-economic-link-venezuela.
52 Justin Podur and Joe Emersberger, Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela (New York: Monthly Review, 2021); Oliver Villar and Drew Cottle, ‘FARC in Colombia: 21st-Century US Imperialism and Class Warfare’ in Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-imperialism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).
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55 ‘Bolton Praises Bolsonaro while Declaring “Troika of Tyranny” in Latin America’, The Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/01/trump-admin-bolsonaro-praise-john-bolton-troika-tyranny-latin-america.
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57 Megan Janetsky, ‘“Referendum on Duque”: Thousands March against Colombia President’, 22 November 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/duque-thousands-march-colombia-president-191121173409335.html; Oliver Villar, ‘From the War on FARC to the War on Dissidents: A Critique of Imperial Peace in a Post-Agreement Theatre of War’, Journal of Labor and Society 24:2 (2021), pp. 282–303.
58 Villar, ‘From the War on FARC to the War on Dissidents’.
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60 ‘Biden to Host Latin American Leaders at Summit in Los Angeles’, New York Times, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/us/politics/biden-summit-los-angeles.html.
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62 Villar, ‘From the War on FARC to the War on Dissidents’.
63 ‘Venezuela Sanctions Aren’t Working. Don’t Repeat the Mistakes of the Cuba Embargo’, The Guardian, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/06/venezuela-sanctions-arent-working-dont-repeat-the-mistakes-of-the-cuba-embargo.
64 ‘Russia and China Condemn Western Sanctions’, The Canberra Times, 2022, https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7680586/russia-and-china-condemn-western-sanctions/. It is worth noting that several countries continue to buy Russian oil and gas in rubles, including Germany and Italy.
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68 Vivanco, ‘Latin America’s Right-Wing Turn’.
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75 Fornes and Mendez, The China-Latin America Axis: Emerging Markets and their Role in an Increasingly Globalised World.
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79 Xinhuanet, ‘Interview: More Opportunities for Colombia-China Cooperation to Come: Colombian President’, 1 August 2019, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/01/c_138276013.htm.
80 Mariana Palau, ‘China Looks to Expand Colombia’s Buenaventura Port’, 29 November 2017, https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/10250-China-looks-to-expand-Colombia-s-Buenaventura-port.
81 Santiago Villa Chiappe, ‘Colombia’s President Looks beyond Oil on China Visit’, 12 August 2019, https://dialogochino.net/29604-colombias-president-looks-beyond-oil-on-china-visit/.
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85 Ted Piccone, ‘The Geopolitics of China's Rise in Latin America’ (Geoeconomics and Global Issues, Brookings Institution, November 2016).
86 Guillermo Puyana Ramos, ‘PANEL 18. China and the World - The 15th World Academy of Political Economy Forum’, Shanghai International Studies University, 18 December 2021.
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89 Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism.
90 David C. Gompert, Astrid Stuth Cevallos and Cristina L. Garafola, War with China Thinking Through the Unthinkable (California: RAND Corporation, 2016). According to this study, which focused on strategising a war with China, a NATO build-up in Eastern Europe would be crucial in preventing Russia from going to the aid of China, leaving China more vulnerable in the event of an attack. The West’s actions in encircling and isolating Russia with its NATO build-up can be viewed as part of a broader strategy to contain and, potentially, attack China. To contain China, the US has also tried a ‘pivot’ to Asia under Obama (a military build-up) and sanctions against China under Trump and against Russia under Biden. Beijing views Russia’s drive to push back against NATO as a parallel to its own efforts to prevent the United States from building up alliances and partnerships in Asia.
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93 Justin Yifu Lin, Peter J. Morgan and Guanghua Wan, Slowdown in the People's Republic of China: Structural Factors and Implications for Asia (Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2018).
94 Oliver Villar, ‘Great Power Competition in Ukraine Amidst the Emerging US-China Rivalry’, E-International Relations, https://www.e-ir.info/2022/03/09/great-power-competition-in-ukraine-amidst-the-emerging-us-china-rivalry/.
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98 Jude Webber, ‘China Trade is No Path to Growth for Latin America’, 28 April 2017, https://www.thenews.com.pk/magazine/money-matters/201660-China-trade-is-no-path-to-growth-for-Latin-America.
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Additional information
Notes on contributors
Oliver Villar
Dr Oliver Villar teaches international politics and history, and sociology at Charles Sturt University. His co-authored book with Drew Cottle is Cocaine, Death Squads and the War on Terror: US Imperialism and Class Struggle in Colombia, published in 2011 by Monthly Review. His current book project investigates the subject of 21st century imperialism in Latin America. Email: [email protected]