Most of the leather produced in Brazil, about 80 percent, is sold abroad, with China as the main buyer, acquiring more than 27 percent of the material. The issue, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, in Portuguese), is that of the five main states that supply [ … ]
China
Ecuador Fails to Solve Problems at Chinese-built Hydroelectric Plant Coca Codo Sinclair
Construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant in Ecuador’s Napo and Sucumbíos provinces began in July 2010. In November 2016, the plant began operations. It was expected to have a capacity of 1,500 megawatts, and forecast to export power to neighboring countries; however, as of December 17, 2021, it [ … ]
China Tests Hypersonic Vehicle that Fires Missiles and Can Carry Nuclear Warheads
China is conducting tests with a vehicle that reaches five times the speed of sound and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and firing missiles. The Financial Times first reported the information in October 2021, although the tests were conducted on July 27 and August 13. According to the British [ … ]
Smuggled Chinese Cigarettes Increasingly Reach Latin America
Smuggled Chinese cigarettes are flooding Latin America through a network of Panama-based shell companies that ship enormous quantities to the region, which does not have a legal market to sell them. These were the findings of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an international [ … ]
Chinese Investors Vie for Lithium Mines in Argentina
The Zijin Mining company, one of the largest copper and gold producers in China, will acquire in full the Canadian company Neo Lithium Corp., which exploits lithium in Tres Quebradas, in the Argentine province of Catamarca, for $770 million, both companies said in a mid-October statement. In September, two other [ … ]
Energy Crisis in China Threatens Latin American Economies
The growing electricity crisis in China, a result of the lack of coal and a high post-pandemic demand for energy, is forcing the rationing of electricity throughout the country, causing industries to close and threatening to derail China’s economic growth, an adverse scenario for Latin America. “It is the worst [ … ]
China Creates Socio-environmental Conflicts in Latin America
From 2000 to 2021, China has caused community conflicts in Latin America, producing negative impacts on the environment by conducting extractive, energy, and infrastructure projects, the nongovernmental organizations Latinoamérica Sustentable (LAS, in Spanish) of Ecuador and the Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad of Colombia reported. Although China established guidelines to finance [ … ]
Ecuador Counters Illegal Fishing with Help from Canada, US
The Canadian and U.S. governments are supporting Ecuador’s efforts to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, by improving the monitoring and preservation of the region’s ecosystems. On September 13, 2021, Ecuador and Canada announced in Quito a cooperation agreement to use satellites to detect and track in real time [ … ]
China Seeks to Consolidate Domination Plan in El Salvador
Two years ago, the U.S. government began to question a Chinese businessman’s motives to purchase Perico Island, in El Salvador, the U.S. network NBC News reported on September 4, 2021. The Shared Opportunities, Shared Future project, which seeks to develop a special economic zone along the coastal strip of El [ … ]
Guyanese Community Affected by Possible Chinese Company Malpractice
Bosai Minerals Group Co. Ltd., founded in 1994 and based in Chongqing province, China, has several businesses, including the distribution of coal, as well as other minerals and ore. This Chinese corporation is also involved in a big controversy in Guyana with residents of the mining town of Matthews Ridge, [ … ]
China Expands Pollution Footprint
Instead of honoring the “green promise” it made at the United Nations on September 22, 2020, to become a zero-emission economy, China has been increasing its pollution levels. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is preparing to restart operations in Venezuela as soon as the Nicolás Maduro regime approves energy [ … ]
China and Russia Partner to Launch New Era of Space Competition
Sixty years after launching the first man into space, Russia begins a new phase of the space race, thanks to its new ally: China. The two powers plan to conduct a robotic mission to an asteroid in 2024 and build a permanent base on the moon by 2030. “China has [ … ]