Chinese Regime Buys Influence in Latin America

The Chinese regime is tightening its grip around Latin America. Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping promised over 10 years a $250 billion of investment in Latin America and an increased annual bilateral trade of $500 billion.

Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solis (L) gestures during talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held at the Great Hall of the People on Jan. 8 in Beijing, China. The Chinese regime is investing in cash-strapped Latin American countries. Ng Han Guan-Pool/Getty Images

The Chinese regime is tightening its grip around Latin America. Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping promised over 10 years a $250 billion of investment in Latin America and increased annual bilateral trade of $500 billion.

The new deals came out of a meeting in Beijing where members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are meeting. CELAC is a 33-country bloc of countries on the American continents that excludes the United States and Canada.

The recent opening of U.S. trade with Cuba may be a sign that Washington is privy of China’s interests in CELAC. The Council on Foreign Relations reported in July 2013 that for five years, President Barack Obama “has ignored Latin America’s unanimous disapproval of Washington’s position on Cuba.”

[China's] projects there often benefit governments more than local people.

— Fact Check Argentina