Hu Jintao Visit Marks
China's Growing Interest
in Latin America
Chinese President Hu
Jintao begins a Latin
America tour today
(Sunday), taking in
Costa Rica, Cuba and
Peru, as China tightens
economic ties and the
region hopes for help in
tougher times.
The Asian giant has
increased diplomacy and
investment in Latin
America in recent years,
with an eye on its
natural resources and
developing markets for
manufactured goods and
even arms.
Many in Latin America
hope for an investment
boost to help ride out
the economic crisis.
Hu's visit to Costa
Rica, is the
highest-level visit by a
Chinese official to the
first Central American
country to break off
Taiwan ties in favor of
China, in June last
year.
Taiwan is now left with
only a small circle of
23 international
supporters, most of them
tiny, poor nations,
while Beijing commands
the support of 171
nations.
"It's more than just
symbolic that Hu Jintao
has decided to come,
because it is clearly
making the point that it
is no longer a Taiwanese
stronghold," said Costa
Rican analyst Luis
Guillermo Solis.
Both Taiwan and China
have been accused of
using so-called "dollar
diplomacy" to get
nations to ally with
them.
But China's economic
might is hard to compete
with, especially in
tough economic times.
Part of China's
incentives to Costa Rica
came from China's
enormous foreign
exchange reserves with
an offer to buy us$300
million dollars in
bonds.
Many wonder if Costa
Rica's neighbors will be
tempted to follow its
move.
"I can't see any changes
in recognition back from
China to Taiwan.
Basically it's been bit
by bit, countries going
from Taiwan to China,"
said Kerry Brown, a
senior fellow at Chatham
House thinktank in
London.
Costa Rica, a major
exporter of computer
components, is now
prepared to negotiate a
free trade deal with
China, the foreign trade
minister said here this
week, dismissing fears
of an invasion of
Chinese products into
the tiny Costa Rican
market.
China has expanded its
high level missions to
the whole continent in
recent years, making
investments and
agreements with such oil
producers as Venezuela,
Ecuador, Colombia,
Argentina, Brazil and
Mexico.
"The fact is that China
has been locked out of a
lot of countries for
energy deals" in the
past, Brown said. "It's
going to be going into
these areas more and
more."
China has also advanced
to economic assistance
and direct investment,
sometimes taking over
from the region's main
commercial partner and
neighbor, the United
States.
The teaching of Chinese
in schools and
universities and
scholarships to China,
as in Costa Rica's deal,
add to a charm
offensive.
And although Latin
American economies are
in a stronger position
to withstand financial
setbacks than in the
past, a strong economic
partner such as China is
more attractive than
ever.
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