Myers: “The [partnership] categories represent the extent to which a country prioritizes its relationship with China”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Margaret Myers, director of the Inter-American Dialogue's Asia and Latin America Program, spoke with Newsweek about China's extensive network of partnerships with countries from around the world and the system with which the People's Republic ranks them. 

Comments from Margaret Myers:

"The [partnership] categories represent the extent to which a country prioritizes its relationship with China in addition to the breadth and depth right of interactions. The evolution of language used to describe various partnerships speaks for itself in terms of growing or waning warmth."

"This does not necessarily mean a decline in real-world benefits for both sides in maintaining the partnership. [For example, Brazil], which under President Jair Bolsonaro has had a very strained political relationship with China, and yet, the breadth and depth of activity remain more or less on track. Perhaps, the better way to characterize it is just kind of the extent of overall engagement and just how much is going on, and this sort of degree of dependence, perhaps on each other."

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Read the full interview in Newsweek.