This article was originally published on The Diplomat on April 18, 2023. Having closely followed China’s advance in the Western Hemisphere for more than two decades, I have always felt discomfort with the reasonable sounding, but self-defeating explanation from our Latin American partners: “Well, the U.S. isn’t offering us anything better…” To be clear, I strongly believe that it is in the U.S. interest to do far more to support the economic development of the region, and the vital related tasks of combatting its endemic corruption, improving citizen security, and strengthening effective and transparent governance. Doing so is the only [ … ]

This article was originally published on The Diplomat.   Chinese engagement with Latin America may be mostly about commerce, but it is nonetheless strategic in its character. Its new Global Security Initiative (GSI) openly highlights the explicitly military and other strategic dimensions of its approach toward Latin America and other parts of the world. The GSI, introduced in 2022 and outlined in February 2023 through a Ministry of Foreign Affairs concept paper compliments the 2013 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the PRC’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) in its evolving and increasingly ambitious narrative about how China seeks to interact [ … ]

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) fired off a letter to the United Nations in December 2021 complaining it had been forced to maneuver its newly occupied space station twice in four months to avoid colliding with two Starlink satellites, part of the constellation launched by United States-based SpaceX to bring the internet to underserved areas of the globe. In its complaint letter the PRC selectively interpreted the terms of the U.N.’s Outer Space Treaty and did not admit that it failed to proactively consult with other nations as outlined in the treaty. Countries are to consult with one another [ … ]

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the internet in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) echoed the Chinese government’s noncommittal stance, declining to portray Moscow’s military assault in Europe as an unprovoked attack. Censors commissioned by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were similarly vigilant in early 2022, limiting online exchanges during a COVID-19 lockdown, including information on how cloistered residents could get food and medicine. Though a few online posts thwarted government surveillance, the crackdown largely was successful. The internet in the PRC is neither open nor free.Posts that criticize government actions disappear, subscribers’ accounts are suspended or [ … ]