China's Social Engagement Programs in Latin America

Abstract

It is well known that Latin America has become a crucial source of oil, copper, coal, steel, grain, and other resources for China, as well as an important market for Chinese manufactured exports. Less well understood are the social engagement programs developed by the Chinese government to foment goodwill and favourable conditions for long-term cooperation with the region. The article explores Latin American reactions to China's growing influence, and how business networking, educational exchange, and technical training schemes have supported commercial relations. Drawing on case studies from Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela, it argues that China's broadly conceived approach to cooperation has served to establish trust and stable economic exchange with partners across the political spectrum.

Keywords::

• Latin America
• China
• social capital
• trust
• exchange programs

Notes

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^15. Ibid., p. 191.

^16. Kevin P. Gallagher and Roberto Porzecanski, The Dragon in the Room: China and the Future of Latin American Industrialization, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2010.

^17. Adrian H. Hearn and José Luis León-Manríquez (eds), China Engages Latin America: Tracing the Trajectory, Boulder, Lynne Rienner, 2011.

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^19. Ibid. p. 17.

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^23. Another goal of Chinese foreign policy, beyond the scope of this article, is an attempt to persuade the eleven Latin American countries (of 24 worldwide) that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan to shift their allegiance to the PRC, see Haro Navejas, ‘China's Relations with Central America and the Caribbean states: reshaping the region’, in Hearn and Leon-Manríquez (eds), China Engages Latin America, pp. 203-219. A further objective, realized in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru during Hu Jintao's 2004 visit, is to become more broadly recognized as a ‘market economy’ in the WTO.

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^30. CLAFT, China- Latin America Task Force, p. 21.

^31. Gallagher and Porzecanski, The Dragon in the Room; José Luis León-Manríquez, ‘China's Challenge to Latin American Development’, in Hearn and León-Manríquez (eds), China Engages Latin America, pp. 159-186.

^32. Robert Devlin, Antoni Estevadeordal, and Andrés Rodríguez (eds), The Emergence of China: Opportunities and Challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cambridge and Harvard, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies; Inter-American Development Bank, 2006, p. 169.

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^34. Anonymous, ‘Plantean de Nuevo prórroga a apertura’, El Mural, 8 December 2011, p. 4.

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^37. Such an arrangement suits countries with small economies but large reserves of human capital (educational aptitude, technical skills, medical expertise, etc.) Domínguez estimates the value of services provided by Cuban doctors in Venezuela on the order of $3 billion per year, compared to the $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil sent back annually to Cuba. See, Jorge I. Domínguez, ‘The New Old Cuba’, paper presented at the Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Montreal, 5-8 September 2007.

^38. Robert Devlin and Antoni Estevadeordal, ‘Trade and Cooperation: A Regional Public Goods Approach’, in A. Estevadeordal, B. Frantz and T. Nguyen (eds), Regional Public Goods: From Theory to Practice, Washington, D.C., IDB/ADB, 2004.

^39. Stapleton J. Roy, ‘The Future of U.S.-China Relations’, Public Address at the University of Southern California U.S.-China Institute, 20 April 2007.

^40. José Luis León-Manríquez, ‘China's Challenge to Latin American Development’, in Hearn and León-Manríquez (eds), China Engages Latin America, p. 170; World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2011–2012, Geneva, The World Economic Forum, 2011, p. 259.

^41. Milthon Minor, ‘Abren en Mexicali Cámara de Empresarios Chinos del Noroeste’, Frontera, 6 March 2010.

^42. Elena Barabantseva, ‘Trans-nationalising Chineseness: Overseas Chinese Policies of the PRC's Central Government’, ASIEN, 96, 2005, p. 17.

^43. Minor, ‘Abren en Mexicali’.

^44. Interview, 5 July 2007.

^45. Ibid.

^46.China Daily, ‘China and Cuba co-develop new anti-cancer vaccine’, 29 March 2012.

^47. John Daly, ‘Venezuela Ramps up China Oil Exports Unsettling Washington’, Oilprice.com, 21 August 2012, http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Venezuela-Ramps-up-China-Oil-Exports-Unsettling-Washington.html, 8 February 2013.

^48. This information was gathered from a focus group interview with PdVSA technicians in Beijing, conducted on 21 June 2007. The technicians noted that Venezuela will remain dependent on the United States as a market for oil exports and because the U.S. firm Caterpillar will continue to provide some drill components.

^49. Interview, 7 October 2012.

^50. Interview, 21 June 2007.

^51. Devlin et al. (eds), The Emergence of China, p. 169; Melinda Lu, ‘China Slows Down’, The Bulletin [Newsweek] 123:6484, August 2005, pp. 40-41.

^52. William Ratliff, ‘China and Venezuela: Pragmatism and Ideology’, Report to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2006, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/ 2006hearings/written_testimonies/06_08_3_4wrts/06_08_3_4_ratliff_william_statement.pdf, accessed 8 February 2012.

^53. Alan Smart, ‘Gifts, Bribes, and Guanxi: A Reconsideration of Bourdieu's Social Capital’, Cultural Anthropology 8:3, 1993, pp. 388-408.