By Adalberto Santana on November 11, 2024
Currently the relations between our America and China, take place in a framework of a region far from armament and global tensions.
It can be recognized that the relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Latin America and the Caribbean in the third decade of the 21st century are aimed at shaping two regions of the world with greater cooperation and mutual benefits. The very announcement that China will have investments of US$250 billion in the next 10 years in the region and that bilateral trade will rise to US$500 billion during the period, as expressed in Beijing by President Xi Jinping himself, in 2015, during the meeting with leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), make us see the great strategic importance China has for the Latin American and Caribbean region.
However, it must also be considered that the relations of two of the main world leaders (U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping), have a specific weight on Latin American and Caribbean countries. This situation will change as of January 2025 with the presidency of Donald Trump in the US. Let us consider that Sino-US relations are located in an axial moment of international relations, especially with the wars in Ukraine and Palestine, as well as the tension in the Taiwan Strait are living very tense and delicate times. Since the launch of a trade war against China by Donald Trump’s administration in 2018, these relations are in a series of difficulties and tensions. The disputes between these two countries are not limited to bilateral trade, the more acute issues such as domestic democracy, international security and global leadership, are also very controversial issues between the two sides. These two powers have yet to reach agreement on issues such as the military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel’s genocide in Palestine. In a sense, the PRC and the US can be seen to be at a crossroads as to which way to go.
For Xi Jinping and soon Donald Trump, turning their backs on each other will not be an option; it would be largely unrealistic. Rivalry and confrontation with each other would bring unbearable consequences for both sides and for the whole prevailing world order moving forward. For Xi, the Earth is supposed to be big enough to accommodate both countries and the success of one country is an opportunity for the other. The Oriental leader advises that China and the United States should take a new vision and jointly structure the five pillars of bilateral relations such as developing accurate perception together, managing differences effectively together, advancing mutually beneficial cooperation together, assuming responsibilities together as great countries, and promoting people-to-people exchanges. These five suggestions point the way forward in developing relations between these two world powers.
President Joe Biden, the outgoing president, believes that US-PRC relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, and that conflict between the two countries is not inevitable. He recognizes that when both sides maintain stable relations, prevent conflict, manage differences and cooperate in areas of shared interest, they will be better able to address the problems they face and common challenges. Biden has reiterated that the five commitments made at the meeting with Xi Jinping in Bali (2023), that his country is not seeking a new Cold War. He points out that he does not intend to change China’s economic and social system, and does not seek to revitalize alliances against the great power of Asia-Pacific, does not support the “independence of Taiwan” and does not intend to escalate a conflict with China. The global situation has an impact in one way or another on the relations of Latin America and the Caribbean with China. For Latin American and Caribbean nations and for China, it is essential to strengthen cooperation and work together to address global challenges. It is in the best interest of our countries to avoid a new Cold War. However, it may be thought that containing and repressing China is a relevant strategy of the White House to maintain its global hegemony. For this reason, there is still a long way to go to stabilize and improve this bilateral relationship. At this juncture, there are a series of events that seem to configure a rather tense and conflictive scenario.
For example, on June 22, 2024, the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived at the South Korean port of Busan, at a time when Russia and North Korea had signed the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement” during Vladimir Putin’s visit to that Korean nation. (Página 12, Buenos Aires, 20/06/24) Previously, in another scenario in the Caribbean region, on June 12 of the same year, the nuclear-powered submarine “Kazan” together with a Russian naval detachment made a five-day visit to Cuba, entering Havana Bay together with the oil tanker “Pashin” and the tugboat Nikolai Chiker”. This situation preemptively accelerated the US position of sending the fast attack submarine “USS Helena” to the Guantanamo Military Base in eastern Cuba, occupied by the US. According to the US Southern Command, such presence was to carry out a “global maritime security and homeland defense mission”.
In summary, the relations between our America and China take place within a framework of a region far from the arms race and global tensions such as the military conflict in Ukraine, the genocidal war against Gaza in the Middle East or the military tensions that the US encourages in the Asia-Pacific region. Our region is a denuclearized zone of peace and shared development. Our countries and their economic, commercial, cultural and political relations with China have the Silk Road and the railroad strategy as the path to follow. In other words, we must necessarily look to China to guide us positively for the benefit of our region and the world.
Adalberto Santana was born in Mexico City, he holds a PhD in Latin American Studies and is a senior researcher at the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CIALC) at UNAM.
Source: Telesur, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English