China’s engagement in Africa is often seen by many observers in a vacuum without a broader understanding of how the relationship compares to Beijing’s strategy in other regions of the world. South America, in particular, provides an interesting contrast for how China’s engagement is both similar to what it’s doing in Africa but also highlights a number of fascinating distinctions.
Dr. Matt Ferchen is a leading expert on Chinese-South American relations. He is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing and he is also a Resident Scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy where he runs the China and the Developing World program.
Dr. Ferchen joins Eric and Cobus for the latest installment in our ongoing series of China and the world discussions to compare China’s engagement in Africa with what it’s doing in Latin and South America.
Recommendations
- “China’s Big Bet on Latin America Is Going Bust,” Patrick Gillespie, CNN Money, February 16, 2016
- “Chinese Finance to LAC in 2015: Doubling Down,” Margaret Myers, Kevin Gallagher, and Fei Yuan, The Inter-American Dialogue, February 2016