Human Rights and
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Juan Pablo Cardenal
Juan Pablo Cardenal
Synic Analysis Editor
Writer, journalist. Foreign correspondent in China for various Spanish newspapers between 2003 and 2014, focusing on China’s international expansion since 2009. Since then, he has done research on the consequences of China’s investments, infrastructure and loans in 40 different countries from 4 continents. The research resulted in books he co-authored, among them “La silenciosa conquista China” (2011) and “La imparable conquista de China” (2015), which were translated to 12 languages. Since 2016, he has directed research projects oriented to understanding China’s soft power and Beijing’s strategy to achieve political influence in Latin America. He has been a speaker in various international conferences and has published articles in El País, El Mundo, Clarín, The New York Times, Project Syndicate and the South China Morning Post. His last book is “La telaraña” (2020), on the internacional thread of political crisis in Catalunia.
Juan Pablo Cardenal's publications
Articles | Artículos | Informes | Libros | Research Reports
12-02-2021 | Research Reports
In order to persuade the political class, the CCPleaders have been especially adept at adoptingattractive positions both on the left and on theright of the ideological arc, thereby building theirinfluence in the region without much resistance.50All of this occurs in a context of political parties’crisis of representation and loss of relevance inLatin America, where the so-called new politics isincreasingly linked to specific actors and individuals rather than to party platforms. In the midstof political corruption and growing dissatisfactionwith democracy, the ghost of caudillo politicalleaders in Latin America looms. Hence, there isan environment of confusion in which Chinesediplomacy moves like a fish in water

11-05-2020 | Research Reports
With more than 280,000 official deaths and a large recession looming, the world is tragically suffering the health and economic consequences of Covid-19. In this context, voices from abroad pointing to China’s alleged responsibility for trying to cover up the disease and therefore, for having contributed significantly to the global spread of the pandemic, are multiplying. To neutralise criticism and deflect its responsibility, Beijing has launched a propaganda offensive to position China not as the authoritarian country where the pandemic was incubated, but as an effective, responsible and generous international leader. Amid Beijing’s politicisation of aid provided to affected countries, the crisis has also shone light on China’s over-reliance on certain strategic sectors. Questioning China’s role in globalisation should be one of the lessons of Covid-19.


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