In 2023, China’s development finance institution (DFI) issued two loans totaling $1.3 billion to Brazil. Chinese DFI lending in 2023 was slightly higher than the $863 million issued by CDB and Ex-Im Bank in 2022. Despite this slight increase, China’s sovereign lending remains modest.
China’s development finance institutions demonstrated renewed interest in lending to LAC in 2022, issuing US$813 million in loans to three LAC governments or state institutions.
Again this year, China’s policy banks—China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank)—issued no new finance to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments or state-run companies, according to findings from the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia and Latin America Program and the Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP).
The emergence of China as a new economic partner presents trade offs for Amazon basin countries. Without special care to avoid and minimize ecological and social impacts, the costs of development run the risk of outweighing its gains.
Margaret Myers, Kevin P. Gallagher, Rebecca Ray, Paulina Garzón, Dietmar Grimm, John Reid, Amy Rosenthal, Li Zhu
On November 14th, the Inter-American Dialogue convened a panel of experts to discuss current trends and prospects of Chinese infrastructure development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event was moderated by Margaret Myers, director of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia & Latin America Program.
Latin American governments are increasingly looking to China to address the region’s glaring infrastructure deficit. However, if history is any indication, China’s commitment to Latin American infrastructure development is unlikely to result in a slew of mega-projects in the coming years.
Margaret Myers
Articles & Op-Eds ˙
˙ Harvard Review of Latin America
Chinese-built infrastructure can indeed be a boon for Latin America, but making this happen will require no shortage of strategic thinking on the part of policymakers.
Margaret Myers
Articles & Op-Eds ˙
˙ Journal of Latin American Geography