Chinese Investment Strategy Across Latin America

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Why do certain Latin American countries receive substantially more Chinese investment than others? Since 2005, the People’s Republic of China’s investment in Latin America has grown, as evidenced by its upward trend of investment with the region now receiving nearly 10% of total Chinese investment, or $200bn. Scholars, analysts, and policymakers argue that growing Chinese investments, notably ones from its Belt and Road Initiative, are intended for global influence through corruption and debt diplomacy. Using the American Enterprise Institute’s China Global Investment Tracker, this thesis assesses the conventional wisdom by identifying the drivers of Chinese investment across Latin American nations. Specifically, it explains why Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela receive high levels of Chinese investment compared to regional peers like Colombia and Mexico. The data suggests that Latin American corruption is not an influential factor in Chinese investment destinations, instead, the potential for commodity exports like soybeans, petroleum, and copper appears more important. The United States government must understand that Beijing’s intentions in the region – which are geared around securing commodity exports – and compete accordingly rather than maligning the PRC’s actions in Latin America without providing a competitive alternative.

Type of resource	text
Date created	June 2, 2021

Author	Clelland, Carter
Primary advisor	Zegart, Amy
Advisor	Fingar, Thomas
Advisor	Trinkunas, Harold
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation

Subject	Center for International Security and Cooperation
Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Freeman Spogli Institute
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/pz890pk9586

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Clelland, Carter (2021). Chinese Investment Strategy Across Latin America. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/pz890pk9586

Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses

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