China’s new strategic document concerning Latin America and the Caribbean, published on December 10 (it is the third which deals with the region, after those prepared in 2008 and 2016), underlines the desire for greater political articulation … with American countries located south of the United States. Without ceasing to be interested in access to raw materials and economic benefits, which have been a priority for Beijing over the last two decades, China is now setting its first objective: attracting Latin America towards a Global South that it leads, at the very moment when the United States has formalized its renewed interest in its “backyard”.
The release of the Chinese document days after the Trump administration released its new national security strategy, which for the first time in decades prioritizes Latin America and the Caribbean, underscores Beijing’s desire to keep the pulse with Washington for influence in a part of the globe that both powers perceive as essential in the new configuration of the world order.
The Chinese text begins by warning that “changes not seen in a century are accelerating in the world and that a significant shift is occurring in the international balance of power.” He considers that the Global South, of which he says he is a part, is experiencing a “strong moment” and presents Latin America as an important part of this bloc. This region, he asserts, “is an essential force in the process towards a multipolar world and economic globalization.”
China appears to be stepping on the accelerator in an attempt to attract support for its most compelling cause: the incorporation of Taiwan. Although the one-China policy already appeared in the two previous documents, this time the reference to the wayward island appears practically at the beginning and with express references that were not specified before. It thus comes to demand that its Latin American partners oppose without cracks to “any form of independence” for Taiwan, at a time when the United States has strengthened its alliance with Taipei and could demand the same from Latin American countries under its influence.
The victory in Honduras of the candidate promoted by Trump, for example, could mean a re-examination of the break in relations with Taiwan made in 2023 by the outgoing Honduran government, with the risk of contaminating this same reversal in other neighboring countries (Central America was in recent decades the region of the world with the most diplomatic relations with Taipei).
Strengthen your presence
China intends to strengthen bilateral relations through high-level contacts (“head of state diplomacy”), meetings of government commissions and meetings of parliamentarians and political party officials, as well as multilateral ties through CELAC. In addition, he promises greater support for the region within international organizations, as well as promoting integration in the Asia-Pacific region, an area of which many Latin American countries are part. Without mentioning Washington, he warns against “decoupling attempts” by the United States to reduce international economic ties with China.
In the economic field, China expresses its intention to increase trade, by concluding free trade agreements, which would consolidate its status as the main trading partner of various countries, particularly in South America. With this, Beijing hopes to make progress in reducing the weight of the dollar as an international currency in the region, since it proposes to promote the use of the renmimbi in a greater number of transactions and, in the financial area, to carry out “swaps” of the respective national currencies.
The document contains some elements that some countries may consider ironic, such as the reference to cooperation in fishing and the fight against drugs, while the Chinese ghost fishing fleet has depleted various South American fishing grounds and fentanyl shooters have entered Mexico through insufficient control of shipments from Chinese soil; Talk of a “democratic and transparent” government system for cyberspace and the Internet also seems comical, given Beijing’s well-known actions.
In its bid to bring more Latin America into its orbit, China is inviting U.S. countries to use its satellite navigation system (BeiDou), host more Confucius cultural centers, exchange radio and television programs, and combine academic research. In an area particularly sensitive to “dual use,” the document proposes that some countries cooperate in building logistics supply bases to support Chinese expeditions to Antarctica (Beijing attempted to have a base in Tierra del Fuego, but the Milei government canceled the project).
Regarding strictly military issues, China offers joint military exercises and the hosting of Latin American soldiers and commanders in its schools. In this context, the text welcomes the declaration of a “zone of peace” made by certain left-wing governments to face the naval deployment carried out by the United States in the Caribbean.
With all this, China “is making it clear that it intends to continue expanding its involvement in the Western Hemisphere. In other words, the competition between the great powers in the region is only just beginning,” says the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of Washington’s leading think tanks. According to this center, “strategically, China’s approach to Latin America appears to be staying the course, aiming to position China as a privileged partner in a series of priority areas.
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