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Combined with damaging key partnerships in the region and Trump’s chaotic and rude nature, this could inadvertently support China’s position. However, it is true that Trump and the Republicans have been in some ways more effective in countering China’s threat to regional stability and global order than the Democrats, who often failed to act on their words.
The democratic pedigree of the 22 emerging countries that are formally members of the alliance now, or could become members in the future, is reflected in The Economist’s Democracy Index 2023. According to it, six countries (Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia) are «flawed democracies», and another four (Turkey, Bolivia, Uganda and Nigeria) are «hybrid regimes», combining democratic and authoritarian characteristics. The other 12, i.e. more than half, are considered «authoritarian regimes».
Chancay is the first deepwater port in Latin America over which Cosco will have full operational control. As with other Chinese state-owned giants, the shipping company is under the long shadow of the Chinese government.
China has taken our measure and few governments dare to risk their commercial relationship with the giant. Milei is not the only president who has had to swallow his diatribes against the Chinese government, which in a way calls into question their timeliness.
The unconditional political, diplomatic and economic support offered by Beijing has been key to keeping the Bolivarian regime in power, from Chavez to Maduro.
Milei has the opportunity to demonstrate, in terms of his China policy, that defending Argentine interests and, at the same time, principles, should be compatible objectives.
That China is a dictatorship and its victims are counted in millions is more than documented, and with its anti-democracy narrative and its global economic influence the Chinese Communist Party regime is the greatest threat to the universal ideal of human rights. The more countries denounce its human rights situation the more the Asian giant’s reprisals will be cushioned, the more changes of political openness it will favor and the more moral authority it will grant to point the finger at other dictatorships.
China will remain a lender in the years ahead, but governments should be more assertive when engaging with China. Demand transparency and openness in your dealings, ensure that local suppliers and local labor is not cut out of the tendering and construction process, and ask tough questions about viability of the project. The days of the China miracle economy are over, and the Belt & Road Initiative is no magic wand which can solve a country’s infrastructure problems.
China’s pattern of using economic means to achieve its goals on issues involving value conflicts has continued from the Hu Jintao era to the Xi Jinping era. In fact, it has intensified under Xi.
