American officials have become alarmed at the Chinese “invasion” into what has been a U.S.-dominated Western Hemisphere. Actually, China is not a new-comer to South and Central America. But it is now focusing on countries in Central America and the Caribbean Islands.
Panama is of particular interest to China. The nation has only 4 million people, but it does have the Panama Canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This makes Panama one of the globe’s busiest trade arteries and of strategic importance to both the U.S. and China.
And as officials in Washington fret and stew over China’s ambitions in the region, China is all charm, wooing Panama’s politicians, professionals, and journalists, according to CTV News Canada.
Conocimos no solo el inédito reto de la construcción de esta obra que unió el sur de China, sino el impacto que tuvo en la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos y el impulso a la economía de la zona. Es lo que aspiramos para el Cuarto Puente sobre el Canal. #PanamáChina pic.twitter.com/LN7Ln82gOz
— Juan Carlos Varela (@JC_Varela) April 3, 2019
A translation of the Twitter post reads: “We knew not only the unprecedented challenge of the construction of this work that united the south of China, but the impact it had on the quality of life of the citizens and the boost to the economy of the area. This is what we aspire for the Fourth Bridge over the Canal.”
Beijing has flown in professionals and journalists to Panama, and the Chinese Ambassador, a Spanish-speaking Latin American veteran, has been touting China’s Belt and Road initiative on television and Twitter.
“We see a big opportunity to connect Asia and America to Panama,” Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said during a visit to Hong Kong this week, reports the Washington Post. The Panamanian president is apparently attending a fourth Belt and Road forum in Beijing this month, according to the Chinese government.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative is building railways, ports, power plants and other projects in dozens of countries around the globe.
China makes inroads in Europe
On March 23, Italy signed a memorandum of understanding for Rome to join the $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative despite misgivings in Washington and Brussels. Italy will be the first of the Group of Seven most-developed nations to sign up for the new Silk Road, which critics say is “predatory” and overwhelmingly favors China and Chinese companies.
“Italy, the world's eighth-largest economy by GDP, would be the largest nation to join up so far. Its participation in the project would be a victory for China. “ March 6, 2019
For debt-ridden Italy, the tie with China is seen as a positive move and is expected to bring the country more business with Beijing. Xi’s strategy is paying off. He has also been in meetings with his counterparts in France and Germany.
Xi’s visit comes a week after the European Union released a 10-point plan outlining a shift to more assertive relations with Beijing, warning that China was a “rival” to the bloc as well as its biggest trading partner.
China extends influence into the Caribbean
A Hong Kong-based company has spent about $3 billion developing and expanding a deep-water container port on Grand Bahama’s Island, just 55 miles from the U.S. mainland, and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, says he is “very concerned,” reports Roll Call.
China’s direct foreign investment, government-backed loans, and grants for infrastructure projects in the region appear to be just that – business as usual. But people need to remember what happened to Sri Lanka in 2017.
When the country fell behind in debt payments for a Chinese-financed port project at Hambantota, the Sri Lankan government was forced to sign-over the port in a 99-year lease to China.
This move allowed Beijing to gain a vital piece of real estate along a major shipping and naval sea-lane in the Indian Ocean, and a is a strategic spot to potential military projects. Nine months ago, China Merchants Port Holdings made a $584 million payment as part of a $1.12 billion deal to operate the deep-water port.
Under the deal, signed in July 2017, China Merchants Port will run the $1.5 billion Chinese-built port on a 99-year lease. The $1.12 billion total price is to be used to reduce the Sri Lankan government’s debt to China.
The bottom line, finally being realized by many officials in Washington is that we should be concerned with China’s increasing involvement in Latin America. While our present administration has cut aid to three Central American countries, China will be more than happy to step in with aid and investment expertise.
Keep this in mind, also: Five Caribbean countries have signed up for Belt and Road funding: Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Dominican Republic, which in November 2018 received a $600 million loan to expand the country’s electricity grid.
