China’s increasingly aggressive attempts to expand its influence in Latin America are setting off alarms in Washington.
in 2015, Beijing provided crucial economic support to President Hugo Chavez from 2007 and then President Nicola Maduro. By 2020, Caracas had received nearly half of all loans made by China in Latin America, with it estimated at the end of 2022 that the outstanding debt could be as much as $12 billion.
Even as that relationship rapidly cooled from 2017 onwards because of endemic corruption impacting Beijing-sponsored projects, China remained aeven after President Trump ratcheted-up sanctions to cut Caracas off from global financial and energy markets. There are signs that the relationship between Beijing and Caracas is thawing with renewed talks between the two nations over restructuring Venezuela’s loans. China National Petroleum Corp.
China is investing considerable effort to build closer ties with Colombia the closest U.S. ally in Latin America. During a 2016 visit to Colombia, China’s foreign ministeron the feasibility of a free trade agreement between the two countries, although no deal has been inked to date. That announcement came on the back of firmer trade relations between Colombia and China that had been deepening since 2011 during the administration of then-President Juan Manuel Santos.
Ever-closer ties between Colombia and China concerned Washington so much that the Biden White House reputedly sent a diplomatic mission to Bogota in 2021 in an effort to head off further agreements between the two countries. That, however, may have been too little too late. Current leftist President Gustavo Petro has made no secret of his desire to forge a more independent path from long-time key ally the U.S.
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