Best outcomes for Panama, whether in its relations with China or other economic partners, will depend on the country’s commitment to open and equitable procurement processes and effective project monitoring and evaluation.
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Margaret Myers, director of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Aisa and Latin America program talks to The Banker’s Silvia Pavoni about China’s relationship with Latin America from trade, investment, technology and infrastructure development.
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.
China’s interest in Latin America has cooled — and that trend will continue.
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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.
Regardless of the effect at home, Beijing’s trade-related outreach in Latin America will likely strengthen China’s overall ties to the region – specially if Latin American governments are able to achieve increasingly balanced trade.
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.
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.
Joining the Belt and Road is an easy sell for Latin America because the Initiative promises much and demands little, writes Ricardo Barrios.
