CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA: THE CASES OF ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, MEXICO, AND VENEZUELA

Abstract

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) experienced, from the 1970s, a wave of political, social, and especially economic reforms that propelled the reemergence of the Asian dragon in the International System as a relevant piece of the global chessboard. The adoption of the Going Out policy enabled a more solid insertion of China in the international agenda and its subsequent approach to other regions of the planet. In this context, Latin America emerged as a strategic scenario for the rise of China as a potential hegemon in the transitioning world order. Thus, the PRC’s growing interest in strengthening its bonds with Latin American countries has manifested foremost through trade, followed by capital export. Based on this and from an analytical-descriptive perspective, this research aimed to comprehend the interests and challenges concerning Chinese investment in Latin America, particularly in Argentina, Brasil, Mexico, and Venezuela. To do so, we hypothesize that these investments are part of a broad strategy of China’s peaceful rise policy, which focuses on the deepening of South-South cooperation, where Latin America plays a main role in the Chinese foreign direct investment.