A Principled Stand
Assistant PRC FM in Mexico and Peru, Ex-Im funds a Bahamas hospital, U.S. senators' concern about Guatemala's ROC-PRC ties, and Bolivia's yuan agreement
Welcome to Chaufa, a China-Western Hemisphere Newsletter by CPSI.
Today’s Edition covers February 19 to March 3.
The Top 5 Stories:
Assistant PRC Foreign Minister Hua Chunying traveled to Mexico and Peru.
In Mexico, she met with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena to discuss investment and commerce, broader political developments in Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East, as well as G20 cooperation. She also met with the China-Mexico parliamentary friendship group.
In Peru, she discussed the Peruvian-hosted APEC 2024 summit and broader trade and investment ties with foreign minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea.
A bipartisan group of seven U.S. Senators sent a letter to Guatemalan President Arévalo to urge him to continue recognizing Taiwan by arguing that Guatemala City’s continued recognition of Taipei “contributes to the preservation of a free and open international order.”
Senator Rubio (R-FL) similarly asked El Salvadorian President Bukele to limit China’s influence in the country and exchanged views with Taiwan’s ambassador to Paraguay as part of a broader visit to the region.
Canada’s and China’s foreign ministers talked on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which Beijing attributed to the Canadian Minister Joy’s request. The two sides discussed stabilizing relations, global conflicts like Gaza and Ukraine, and climate change. (FMPRC)
Wang Yi also met with Argentina’s foreign minister at the conference, where he said that “China respects the choices of the Argentine people and believes that Argentina can overcome the current difficulties and embark on the path of development and prosperity soon.” (China Daily)
Bolivia’s state-owned Banco Unión and the Industrial and Commercial of China (ICBC) signed an agreement to carry out direct yuan transactions without intermediary currencies or banks to better facilitate trade and reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar.
Bolivia’s government announced its plans last summer to begin trading in yuan after months of dollar shortages.
The Davis administration revealed that China Export-Import Bank will help fund a new $290 million, 250-bed specialty hospital in the Bahamas, while Guyana’s Ministry of Public Works signed a contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation for the IDB funded $117 million East Bank Road Improvement Works project.
The Bahamas project appears to be the previously proposed New Providence hospital, which had been previously criticized by the opposition as too expensive.
Core Brief
Mexico’s Candidates on China
Mexico’s presidential elections officially kicked off this week, with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and former Senator Xóchitl Gálvez leading the race. While the presidential race isn’t focusing on Sino-Mexico ties, both candidates have given some hints as to how they’d manage ties with the PRC.
Frontrunner Claudia Sheinbaum has suggested that she plans to continue the current Lopez Obrador administration’s embrace of near-shoring and foreign investment, which likely indicates that Mexico will continue to welcome Chinese FDI for the foreseeable future. This tracks with Sheinbaum’s tenure as mayor, where she emphasized commerce, investment, and tourism when meeting with the PRC’s ambassador. However, this doesn’t mean she would wholeheartedly support Beijing – in a recent interview on Mexico’s climate policy, Sheinbaum laid much of the blame for the current climate crisis on China and its inaction.
Representing the opposition, former senator Gálvez has also embraced Chinese investment in Mexico, saying in an interview that it is “an opportunity that we won’t have again for many decades.” However, she has expressed strong reservations about getting too close to China, having said that “we need to have a dialogue with China, but for me, the priority is where Mexico is located. Mexico is part of North America.” As the United States increasingly expresses concern over Chinese investments in Mexico, this indicates she would prioritize maintaining Mexico City’s relationship with Washington over Beijing.
The Roundup
Politics and Society
Newly released documents show that two Chinese-born scientists who worked at Canada’s top microbiology lab passed along secret information to the PRC government until 2019.
However, Ottawa’s health minister claimed that at “no time did national secrets or information that threatened the security of Canada leave the lab.
Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister sat down for an interview with Xinhua following his recent visit to Beijing. He referenced economic cooperation, international organization cooperation in the Small States and CELAC forums, and tourism.
Honduran President Castro and Bolivian President Arce, met with Chinese Special Envoy Qui Xioaqui at the sidelines of the VIII CELAC Forum in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Panama sat down with President Cortizo to discuss economic, social development, and public security cooperation, as well as the development of people-to-people ties.
Investment, infrastructure, and finance
New research by the University of Alberta found that Chinese investment in Canada’s critical minerals sector jumped from C$62 million in 2022 to C$2.2 billion in 2023 despite Ottawa recently tightening its foreign investment rules in the critical minerals sector.
China’s Jiangxi Copper purchased an additional $212 million in the Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals to help the company make up a shortfall following the forced closure of its copper mine in Panama.
The company is also exploring three additional copper mines in Latin America: two in Peru, and one in Argentina.
XCMG signed an MOU with the state of Carabobo to build the first heavy machinery assembly plant in Venezuela, while XCMG is looking to expand to Argentina, Colombia, and Peru through its newly inaugurated Finance Chile subsidiary
The Venezuelan Ministry of Education and Asia Gourmet Market C.A Corporation reaffirmed a previously signed agreement on building the first international Chinese school in the region.
Burford Capital, a company trying to collect a $16 billion US court judgment against Argentina, is exploring whether China’s currency swap line to the South American country could be used to satisfy the debt.
Trade and Technology
The PRC lifted anti-dumping duties on Brazilian chicken that had been imposed in 2019, while Brazilian and Chinese civil aviation authorities signed a cooperation MOU in Beijing.
Yutong Bus delivered an order of 214 electric buses to Santiago’s public transportation system in Chile.
Ecuador’s shrimp industry is reforming its industry-wide protocols after above-permitted levels of sodium metabisulfite residue were found in shipments to the PRC.
Speaking at the opening of a new congressional session, Uruguay’s president accused Brazil and Argentina’s governments of the China FTA’s stalled status, reiterating a claim he made last year.
Taiwan
A high-level delegation led by Under Secretary of State Zeya traveled to Belize this past week, where she commended Belize’s “principled stand as one of twelve countries recognizing Taiwan.”
The Taiwanese Overseas Engineering & Construction Company broke ground on the ROC Embassy-backed San Pedro General Hospital project in Belize.
St. Lucia’s commerce minister led a trade delegation to Taiwan to enhance bilateral trade and investment, and the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan hosted ambassadors from Taiwan’s few Western Hemisphere diplomatic allies from the Taiwan-Central and South American and Caribbean Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry pledged $300,000 to Guatemala in relief supplies following a recent wildfire and started a new agricultural cooperation program with St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
After Cuba denied a Taiwanese family’s passport a few months ago, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said that it still lacks clarity on whether the Cuban government is accepting ROC passports.
Paraguay’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce hosted a delegation from Taiwan’s Master Transportation Bus Manufacturing company to discuss a $30 million investment to build electric buses in the South American country.
Society and Culture
Newly released U.S. government data confirmed that illegal crossings by PRC citizens from Mexico into the United States hit a record high, with more than 24,000 crossings in 2023.
Both Al Jazeera, DW, and Voice of America ran articles detailing the plight of these migrants and refugees crossing the Darien Gap in Panama.
After Messi’s failure to play a friendly match in Hong Kong led to the cancellation of two Chinese-hosted Argentina soccer friendlies, the country’s football association announced that the friendlies would now be played in the United States.
An association representing both PRC citizens and Chinese-descendent Dominican citizens in the Dominican Republic held a press conference to thank the DR’s national police for helping solve several crimes in Santo Domingo’s Chinatown.
Analysis and Opinion
In a piece for War on the Rocks, Benjamin Gedan argues that Argentine President Milei’s friction with China “presents the United States with an unexpected opportunity to offer alternatives to Chinese trade and investment.”
A Financial Times analysis found that Chinese firms are avoiding U.S. tariffs against China by first exporting their products to Mexico, where they are then shipped up to the United States.
Relatedly, Dr. Rebecca Ray explained in testimony to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission that “Chinese investment in Mexico’s vehicle and electronics sectors have increased significantly since the [Trump Administration’s] tariffs took effect.”
Evan Ellis has a new piece for The Diplomat (in English) and Infobae (in Spanish) about the characteristics and trends in Chinese security cooperation across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Taiwan’s ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis wrote an article for ZIZ on recent Taiwan-China aviation disputes and called for the Caribbean country’s civil society’s assistance at ICAO.
That’s it for now, see you again in two weeks!
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