The pressure that China exerts on Latin America to gain more influence in the Pacific Rim finds Latin American countries disconnected and without a strategic plan in the face of the leading role that the United States also seeks to maintain, according to experts convened this Thursday by the Inter-American Dialogue study center .
This analysis center, based in the US capital, developed a forum with experts to review the opposing views of the two world powers that are seeking increasing influence in the strip and markets of the Pacific Sea that represent more than 40% of the movement of exports in the global economy.
Under the theme ‘Opposing views on Chinese influence and security in the Pacific What is the role of Latin America?‘, the speakers focused their attention on the divergences and lack of plans in the region.
The Chilean ambassador in Washington and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the South American country, Juan Gabriel Valdés, says that there is no doubt that the struggle between the two powers is evident in the region.
Although “I don’t think it is the scene of the Cold War (…) the decoupling of the two economies is very difficult,” said Ambassador Valdés, who warned that all his opinions were personal to distance himself from his rank as high representative of the Chilean government. in Washington.
Adding that, as the struggles between the two powers are evident “and the search for allies”, the United States can be seen trying to regain “leadership in the region.” And China betting on its plan to develop trade routes with at least 20 Latin American nations.
At the end of the day -in the diplomat’s opinion- if the region lacks internal communication channels to deal with issues as emerging as the pandemic, even less does it have them “to generate a position” in the face of China’s influence.
“China is the main client of the large markets in the region. The high degree of indebtedness that it implies has made the project quite complex and the countries are not lining up to ask for loans from China,” argued Valdés. “A very clear policy is required. The countries of the region have not communicated on complex and topical issues, and even less so on issues such as China.”
The plans for the return of the USA
For the economist Paulina Nazal Arand, director of the ProAmerica center, focused on promoting investments in the region from the United States, said that at the moment the administration of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, seeks to resume the leading role in the region, which declined during the years of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
“The four years of the Trump administration meant a setback,” he says.
“President Biden said it in one of the first big meetings with world leaders: ‘The United States has returned’ and that raises a different scope”, says the expert, who maintains that currently it can be seen that the plans of the world’s leading power go through influencing strategic regions on the Pacific side, of which Latin America covers a huge swath.
But the vicissitudes of the moment limit the space to which tensions can go, since the Biden administration has had to spend two years focused on internal issues “such as economic recovery after the pandemic and dealing with inflation, plus the war in Ukraine , which has meant other challenges”, Nazal pointed out.
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