Chinese-Latin American cooperation

Thew expanding cooperation beteween China and Latin America is one of the more interesting ongoing news stories. Or, if you prefer, the expansion of Chinese influence in Latin America.

TV Pública argentina reports on recent development in V7inter - China-Celac, una alianza estratégica 01/10/2015:

Promesas de China para la región Página/12 08.01.2015 also reports on this trend. There was recently a meeting in Beijing of Chinese President Xi Jinping with CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States).

Megha Rajagopalan reports on the meeting in China's Xi woos Latin America with $250 bln investments Reuters 01/08/2015:

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday $250 billion in investment in Latin America over the next 10 years as part of a drive to boost resource-hungry China's influence in a region long dominated by the United States.

Leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC - a 33-country bloc that does not include the United States or Canada - gathered in Beijing for the first time for a two-day forum on Thursday. ...

China, the world's second-largest economy, is buying oil from Venezuela, copper from Peru and Chile, and soybean from Argentina and Brazil.

In return, China has invested billions of dollars.

In the TV Pública argentina report above, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, not known for an inclination to understatement, declares this to be "a unique opportunity in the history of humanity" at around 3:40. Citing Hugo Chavez, he praises China as demonstrating that it is possible for a country to be a world power with imperial or hegemonic pretensions.

As one of the commentators on the video points out, China is obviously pursuing its own interests, as well. The cooperation between the various countries is based on mutual interest. The extent to which China eventually displays more domineering behavior will develop over the coming years.

China's Xinhua news service gives a boilerplate report on the summit, China, CELAC deepens cooperation with major documents China Daily 01/09/2015:

The two-day meeting, co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Costa Rican counterpart, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, passed a five-year cooperation plan, regulations for the forum and the Beijing Declaration. ...

Wang noted that the forum had given a strong "China-CELAC message" to the world.

China will work for both sides to reap early harvests from the forum and build a new model of South-South cooperation, Wang said. "We will be especially thorough in basic infrastructure. China has great strength in this field including production, techniques and equipment."

China-CELAC cooperation is "open, inclusive and balanced" and excludes no third party, Wang added. "In cooperation with developing countries, China will consider their need for self-development... instead of simply trade and investment or mere one-off sales of resources and energy," he said.