In the last two decades, China has become a key trading partner for Latin America and the Caribbean, a link that is reflected in the considerable increase in bilateral exchange between both regions. In 2000 Sino-Chilean bilateral trade totaled around 14 billion dollars, but by 2022 this figure had risen to 500 billion, multiplying its value 35 times, according to a 2023 ECLAC study.
This growing commercial relationship is also reflected in the investments of Chinese capital in Latin America, directed mainly to the areas of mining, energy, and infrastructure, and the new interactive map Regional Repository of Chinese Investments in Latin America, developed by Millennium Nucleus ICLAC, together with The Inter-American Dialogue, collect in detail in a digital tool that allows these investments to be georeferenced at the local level and be useful in future analysis of public policy and academic research.
The presentation of the repository took place last Friday, March 15 during the “ ICLAC 2024 Seminar: Strategic Look at China ”, an event that also brought together prominent researchers: Carol Wise (University of Southern California, USA ), Evelyn Hu-DeHart (Brown University, USA) and Rhys Jenkins (University of East Anglia, United Kingdom). The seminar was held in the Auditorium of the Faculty of History, Geography and Political Science UC of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Chile.
On this occasion, ICLAC researcher and director of the Asia & Latin America Program of The Inter – American Dialogue, Margaret Myers, highlighted the collaborative nature of the initiative: “I think it is something absolutely fundamental, it is something that represents ICLAC as well, the collaboration between institutions across the hemisphere”. Myers pointed out that during data collection the contribution of partners who work in depth on these issues was crucial, such as the Center for Studies on China and Asia-Pacific at the Universidad del Pacífico (Peru), which collaborated in its development.
The repository brings together information and the locations of confirmed foreign direct investments (FDI) from China in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically in Argentina, Chile, and Peru, between the years 2003 and 2023, classified by type of project, economic sector and companies involved.
The objective in the long term is to add more countries to the database, thus covering the entire region.
For the director of the Millennium Nucleus ICLAC and academic at the UC Institute of Political Science, Francisco Urdinez, this map allows for an “understanding [of] the regional heterogeneities within the[se] countries, and a granular analysis of which are the most active Chinese actors in the region”.
Dr. Urdinez also emphasizes the academic value that this tool has for future professionals and new research in the area: “Having the data available opens up a huge world of original ideas, combined with other existing data that helps understand what the local impact, at the regional communal level, the enormous presence of Chinese capital has in the region.”
The repository can be seen at this link.