Abstract
China's Belt and Road Initiative has arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean, calling for a new international cooperation model. It promises resources to improve connectivity and reduce the infrastructure investment gap in the region. However, it raises some concerns about the lack of information and transparency, the asymmetrical relationship based on economic dependency, and the potential discoordination and competition among countries to get resources individually rather than exploring potential co-financed projects. This chapter explores why the BRI is crucial for China and to what extent Latin American regional cooperation might influence the Chinese approach to the region. The chapter also argues that complementing BRI execution through a combination of multilateral and bilateral projects can be a useful way forward for China and Latin America to address shared challenges.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AIIB. 2020. 2019 AIIB annual report and financials. https://www.aiib.org/en/news-events/annual-report/2019/_common/pdf/2019-aiib-annual-report-and-financials.pdf.
Ayuso, A., and Villar, S. 2014. Integration processes in Latin America. CGR Gulf Papers, Gulf Research Centre-Geneva. https://bit.ly/3eqIKAS.
Bandiera, L., and V. Tsiropoulos. 2020. A framework to assess debt sustainability under the Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of Development Economics 146: 102495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102495.
Birle, P. 2018. Cooperación e integración regional en América Latina: entre la globalización y la regionalización. In A. Serbin (Ed.), América Latina y el Caribe frente a un Nuevo Orden Mundial: Poder, globalización y respuestas regionales. 247–268. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial: Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales.
Cai, P. 2017. Understanding China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Lowy Institute For International Policy. https://think-asia.org/handle/11540/6810.
Cavallo, E., and Powell, A. 2019, March. 2019 Latin American and Caribbean macroeconomic report: Building opportunities for growth in a challenging world. Inter-American Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.18235/0001633.
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (Central Committee CPC). 2016. 中华人民共和国国民经济和社会发展第十三个五年规划纲要. http://www.xinhuanet.com//politics/2016lh/2016-03/17/c_1118366322.htm.
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (Central Committee CPC). 2021. 中华人民共和国国民经济和社会发展第十四个五年规划和 2035年远景目标纲要. http://www.xinhuanet.com/2021-03/13/c_1127205564_2.htm.
Chaves García, C. A. 2017. Aproximación teórica y conceptual para el análisis de la Alianza del Pacífico. Desafíos, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/desafios/a.5775.
Chen, C.K. 2021. China in Latin America then and now: A systemic constructivist analysis of China’s foreign policy. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 50 (2): 111–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681026211034880.
Chen, X. 2018. Globalisation redux: Can China’s inside-out strategy catalyse economic development and integration across its Asian borderlands and beyond? Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 11 (1): 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy003.
Cheney, C. 2019. China’s digital silk Road: Strategic technological competition and exploring political illiberalism. New York, NY: The Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/blog/chinas-digital-silkroad-strategic-technological-competition-and-exporting-political.
China. 2015. Full text: Vision and actions on jointly building Belt and Road—Belt and Road forum for international cooperation. Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. http://www.beltandroadforum.org/english/n100/2017/0410/c22-45.html.
Chirkin, S. A. 2021. Foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean—the evolution of flows. International Trade and Trade Policy 7(3): 50–63. https://doi.org/10.21686/2410-7395-2021-3-50-63.
Defelipe C. 2017. Prospects for China-Latin America relations and the Caribbean: From a bilateral approach to a regional one. In La proyección de China en américa latina y el caribe (Spanish Edition), 123–143. In Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
De Sousa Constante, P. 2020. Relações comerciais entre China e América Latina: assimetrias e ausência de redirecionamento. Revista Interdisciplinaria De Estudios Sociales, (20), 131–163. https://www.ceiso.com.ar/ries/index.php/ojs/article/view/41.
Dirmoser, D. 2017. La Gran Marcha china hacia el oeste. El megaproyecto de la nueva Ruta de la Seda. Nueva Sociedad 270: 27–38.
Dunford, M., and W. Liu. 2019. Chinese perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 12 (1): 145–167. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy032.
ECLAC. 2021. Foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021. United Nations. https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/47148-foreign-direct-investment-latin-america-and-caribbean-2021.
Enderwick, P. 2018. The economic growth and development effects of China’s One Belt. One Road Initiative. Strategic Change 27 (5): 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2229.
Flint, C., and C. Zhu. 2019. The geopolitics of connectivity, cooperation, and hegemonic competition: The Belt and Road Initiative. Geoforum 99: 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.12.008.
Gélvez Rubio, T. A., and Gachúz Maya, J. C. 2020. Current trends in China’s international development cooperation to Latin America: potential opportunities and challenges with the belt and road initiative. Asian Education and Development Studies, (ahead-of-print), 24. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-08-2019-0125.
Global Infrastructure Hub. 2017. Global infrastructure outlook: Infrastructure investment needs 50 countries, 7 sectors to 2040. Global Infrastructure Hub, Sydney. https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/recent-releases/Global-Infrastructure-Outlook.
Gonzalez Jauregui, J. 2020. Latin American countries in the BRI: Challenges and potential implications for economic development. Asian Education and Development Studies 10 (3): 348–358. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-08-2019-0134.
Gu, J., Corbett, H., and Leach, M. 2019. Introduction: The Belt and Road Initiative and the sustainable development goals: Opportunities and Challenges. IDS Bulletin, 50(4): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.19088/1968-2019.136.
Group of Seven. 2021. Carbis Bay G7 Summit Communiqué “Our Shared Agenda for Global Action to Build Back Better.” https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/50361/carbis-bay-g7-summit-communique.pdf.
Haibin N. 2017. China’s policies and strategies toward Latin America and the Caribbean. In La proyección de China en américa latina y el caribe (Spanish Edition), 99–122. In Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
Hiratuka, C. 2018. Chinese infrastructure projects In Brazil. In Building development for a New Era, 122–143. Asian Studies Center. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Enrique-Peters/publication/340741500_Building_Development_for_a_New_Era_Chinas_Infrastructure_Projects_in_Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean/links/5e9b48c692851c2f52ae51ce/Building-Development-for-a-New-Era-China-s-Infrastructure-Projects-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf.
Huang, Y. 2016. Understanding China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Motivation, framework and assessment. China Economic Review 40: 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2016.07.007.
Hui, Z. 2014. Regional cooperation of Latin America and strategic choice of Sino-Latin American cooperation. China International Studies 48: 61–78.
Hurley, J., Morris, S., and Portelance, G. 2019. Examining the debt implications of the Belt and Road Initiative from a policy perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development 3(1): 139. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v3i1.1123.
IMF. 2019. IMF executive board concludes 2019 Article IV consultation with the people’s Republic of China. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/08/09/pr19314-china-imf-executive-board-concludes-2019-article-iv-consultation.
Jones, B., Bhattacharya, A., Dollar, D., Doshi, R., Hass, R., Kharas, H., Solís, M., and Stromseth, J. 2019. China’s Belt and Road: The new geopolitics of global infrastructure development. https://www.brookings.edu/research/chinas-belt-and-road-the-new-geopolitics-of-global-infrastructure-development/.
Kroeber, A. R. 2020. China’s economy: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.
Laufer, R. 2020. El proyecto Chino; La Franja y La Ruta; y América Latina: ¿Otro norte para el sur? Revista Interdisciplinaria De Estudios Sociales (20): 9–52. https://www.ceiso.com.ar/ries/index.php/ojs/article/view/laufer-ries20.
Leiva, D. 2020. BRI and railways in Latin America: how important are domestic politics? Asian Education and Development Studies, (ahead-of-print): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-08-2019-0127.
Lewis, D.J., X. Yang, D. Moise, and S.J. Roddy. 2021. Dynamic synergies between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of International Business Policy 4 (1): 58–79. https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-020-00082-6.
Li, Y., and X. Zhu. 2019. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. Sustainability 11 (8): 2297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082297.
Liu, W., M. Dunford, and B. Gao. 2018. A discursive construction of the Belt and Road Initiative: From neo-liberal to inclusive globalization. Journal of Geographical Sciences 28 (9): 1199–1214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-018-1520-y.
Lum, T., Fischer, H., Gomez, J. and Lelan, A. 2009. China’s foreign aid activities in Africa, Latin America and south East Asia. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved January 1, 2021 from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40361.pdf.
Maçães, B. 2020. Belt and road: A Chinese world order. Hurst.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The People’s Republic of China. 2019. (MFA China, 2019). The Belt and Road Initiative progress, contributions and prospects. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/ce/cese//eng/zgxw/t1675676.htm.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The People’s Republic of China. 2017. (MFA China, 2017). Joint communique of the leaders roundtable of the belt and road forum for international cooperation. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1462012.shtml.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The People’s Republic of China. 2016. (MFA China, 2016). Basic information about China-CELAC forum. http://www.chinacelacforum.org/eng/ltjj_1/P020161207421177845816.pdf.
Mora, F.O. 1997. The people’s Republic of China and Latin America: From indifference to engagement. Asian Affairs: An American Review 24 (1): 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00927679709602304.
Myers, M., and Gallagher, K. 2017. Chinese finance to LAC in 2016. The Dialogue. https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2017/11/Chinese-Finance-to-LAC-in-2016-Web-and-email-res.pdf.
Nedopil, C. 2021. Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing, IIGF Green BRI Center. https://green-bri.org/countries-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-bri/.
New Development Bank. 2021. Annual Report 2020. https://www.ndb.int/annual-report-2020/pdf/NDB%20AR%202020_complete_v1.pdf.
Reuters. 2020. Tren bioceánico por Bolivia necesita a Brasil, pero Bolsonaro mira a Chile: ministro peruano. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/peru-brasil-idLTAKBN1ZM2P.
Rolland, N. 2019. A concise guide to the Belt and Road Initiative. The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). https://www.nbr.org/publication/a-guide-to-the-belt-and-road-initiative/.
Segovia, D. 2013. Latin America and the Caribbean: Between the OAS and CELAC. Revista Europea De Estudios Latinoamericanos Y Del Caribe/European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (95): 97–107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23595694.
Serrano Moreno, J. E., Telias, D., and Urdinez, F. 2020. Deconstructing the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. Asian Education and Development Studies, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-01-2020-0021.
Shang, H. 2019a. What Can the Belt and Road Initiative Do? The Belt and Road Initiative: Key Concepts 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9201-6_2.
Shang, H. 2019b. What is the Belt and Road Initiative? The Belt and Road Initiative: Key concepts 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9201-6_1.
Shicheng, X. 2006. Las diferentes etapas de la relación sino-latinoamericanas. Nueva Sociedad 203: 102–112.
Sullivan, M., and Lum, T. 2021. China’s engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean. Congressional Research Service (CRS). https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10982.
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). 2019. China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Five years later. https://www.nbr.org/publication/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-five-years-later/.
The White House. 2021. Fact Sheet: President Biden and G7 leaders launch build back better world (B3W) partnership. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/12/fact-sheet-president-biden-and-g7-leaders-launch-build-back-better-world-b3w-partnership/.
Toro-Fernandez, J.-F., and Tijmes-Ihl, J. 2020. The pacific alliance and the Belt and Road Initiative. Asian Education and Development Studies, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/aeds-08-2019-0126.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (n.d.). The Belt and Road Initiative international green development coalition (BRIGC). UNEP—UN Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/belt-and-road-initiative-international-green.
Valderrey, F.J., M.A. Montoya, and A. Sánchez. 2019. Latin America: The east wing of the new silk road. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries 21 (1): 34–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1783591719853537.
Velásquez, S.O. 2017. Inversión Extranjera Directa de China en América Latina y el Caribe, aspectos metodológicos y tendencias durante 2001–2016. Economía Informa 406: 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecin.2017.10.001.
Wang, Y. 2017. The Belt and Road Initiative becomes new opportunity for China-Latin America cooperation. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1494844.shtml.
Wang, Heng. 2018. China’s approach to the Belt and Road Initiative. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31627.34082.
World Bank. 2019. Belt and road economics: Opportunities and risks of transport corridors. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1392-4.
World Bank. 2021a. GDP growth (annual %)—China. The World Bank Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=CN.
World Bank. 2021b. GDP per capita (current US$)—China. The World Bank Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CN.
World Bank. 2021c. GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)—Chile, Haiti | Data. The World Bank Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?locations=CL-HT.
Wuthnow, J. 2017. Chinese perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative: Strategic rationales, risks, and implications. Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/1326867/chinese-perspectives-on-the-belt-and-road-initiative-strategic-rationales-risks/.
Yuanbo, L., and Z. Xufeng. 2019. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. Sustainability 11 (8): 2297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082297.
Yin, W. 2019. Integrating sustainable development goals into the Belt and Road Initiative: Would it be a new model for green and sustainable investment? Sustainability 11 (24): 6991. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11246991.
Zeng, J. 2019. Narrating China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Global Policy 10 (2): 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12662.
Zhang, P. 2019. Belt and road in Latin America: A regional game changer? Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/belt-and-road-in-latin-america-a-regional-game-changer/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Teixeira, A.G., Azócar, N. (2023). Infrastructure: The Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. In: Schneider, A., Teixeira, A.G. (eds) China, Latin America, and the Global Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18026-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18026-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-18025-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-18026-2
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)