To enhance research on China's growing role in Latin America, the Millennium Nucleus ICLAC has recently formalized various collaboration agreements with key stakeholders in Chile and across the Americas. These partnerships reinforce the nucleus's mission to study the economic, political, and cultural impact of China in the region, and are crucial for further strengthening the academic debate on Sino-Latin American relations and increasing public understanding of the Asian giant.
The institutions with which these agreements were signed include The Dialogue, the Andrés Bello Foundation – Chinese-Latin American Research Center, the Center for Studies on China and the Asia-Pacific (Cechap) at the Universidad del Pacífico, China Effect from Cooperativa, and El Mostrador.
For Francisco Urdinez, Director of the Millennium Nucleus ICLAC, these collaboration agreements represent “a unique opportunity to broaden our reach and deepen our analysis. These partnerships allow us to combine diverse and complementary perspectives, enriching our understanding of the complex relationship between China and Latin America”. Urdinez added that these collaborations “strengthen our ability to generate high-impact research and influence public policies related to this crucial issue for our region”.
This link provides information on the current state of ICLAC’s network of collaborators, a map that the nucleus hopes to expand further with future collaborations in other Latin American countries and worldwide.
Partner Institutions and Shared Goals
Parsifal D’Sola, Executive Director of the Andrés Bello Foundation, stated that this agreement is an important step for both organizations: “The collaboration agreement with ICLAC is of great importance to our organization, as it is unique in the region for addressing the relationship between China and Latin America—particularly with Chile—in a comprehensive manner across multiple disciplines, something uncommon in other countries”, D’Sola commented.
Fabián Pizarro, Executive Director of Efecto China, valued the contribution ICLAC can make to Cooperativa’s audience: “For our project, it is essential to have expert, authoritative voices with experience to inform our listeners and readers about the relevance of China for Chile and Latin America”, he affirmed.
Meanwhile, María José Quesada, General Coordinator of El Mostrador, expressed hope that this agreement will allow them to “provide our audience with content of interest and relevance about the so-called 'Boom of Chinese Capital' in Latin America over the past twenty years".
Impact and Future Projections of the Agreements
While some of these partnerships are new for ICLAC, several of them formalize successful previous cooperation, such as the alliance with The Dialogue and Cechap. Together, they developed the Regional Repository of Chinese Investments in Latin America, an interactive map that allows users to visualize and analyze Chinese investments in the region, providing key data on the presence and expansion of Chinese capital in strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and mining. All data on the map is public and freely accessible.
Additionally, the collaborative podcast "China-Latam Connection. Vol 1: Chile" was recently launched by the Andrés Bello Foundation. In this initiative, various researchers from the Millennium Nucleus ICLAC delve into China's relationship with Latin America, with a special emphasis on Sino-Chilean relations. The podcast is available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.