Costa Rica established diplomatic relations with China on June 1, 2007, motivated by promises of significant investments and strategic cooperation. In the years that followed, however, a review of the relationship reveals a series of failed projects and a marked trade imbalance. Despite its economic overture, China has so far struggled to translate its financial presence into significant political or social influence in the country.
Beginnings and expectations
The diplomatic shift, which involved breaking ties with Taiwan, initially resulted in goodwill gestures such as the construction of the National Stadium and the purchase of government bonds. However, these expectations eventually led to frustration and limited results. China’s commercial strategy struggled against Costa Rica’s legal and institutional framework, an environment that is far more demanding and transparent than in other countries in the region.
As Carlos Murillo, an academic at the University of Costa Rica, explained to Diálogo, China’s presence has been far more limited than in other Central American countries. “The difference lies in the political culture: more complex and transparent processes, a legislative assembly that questions every decision, and a vigilant press, factors that are uncommon in the rest of Central America.”
The National Stadium, a high-profile gift from China, soon became a source of controversy. Built by the Chinese company Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group, the project faced questions over attempts to divert duty-free imported equipment, an incident that foreshadowed recurring themes of a lack of transparency and a disregard for local laws in future Chinese-led projects.
Failed projects and strategic challenges
The most emblematic case is the Soresco refinery, a joint venture between the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (Recope) and the Chinese state-owned company CNPCI. The project failed in 2016 when CNPCI attempted to impose its own subsidiary as an independent evaluator, which contradicted national regulations. After 12 years of conflict and international arbitration, Recope announced the dissolution of Soresco in 2019. The International Court of Arbitration ordered its liquidation, and five people linked to the company were investigated for alleged embezzlement and mismanagement.
“Soresco also failed because it ignored environmental opposition, had obsolete facilities, and a plan that required a pipeline to the Pacific without a suitable port to receive ships,” Murillo explained. “That project was dead on arrival.”
Another controversial project is Route 32, managed by China Harbor Engineering Corporation, accused of corruption. The road’s expansion began in 2011 and was initially expected to be completed in 2018. The project has since accumulated more than 12 years of delays due to a combination of construction deficiencies and problems with land access, generating mobility risks and conflicts with communities.
San José’s Chinatown, a gift from Beijing, blocked a key road, attracted few stores, and suffered from flooding due to design flaws. Just over a year after its 2012 inauguration, it was already showing signs of commercial decline.
In the telecommunications sector, the government’s decision to require that 5G networks providers be signatories to the Budapest Convention effectively excluded companies like Huawei, a move that sparked legal action from the company. Huawei’s appeal was rejected by the Constitutional Court, and the case remains unresolved.
“Huawei has a negative public image. Although its offers have been considerably cheaper, the general perception is one of mistrust: Many believe that cheapness implies risks of surveillance and control,” Murillo explained. “More than the costs, what weighs heavily is the suspicion toward the company and, by extension, toward China.”
Trade and strategic imbalance
Costa Rica failed to significantly increase its exports to China despite the diplomatic shift and the signing of a free trade agreement in 2011. On the contrary, Chinese products and businesses expanded in the country, displacing local companies and generating a growing trade deficit in Beijing’s favor.
“With China, it is very clear that we will never be able to export more than we import,” Andrei Calderón, a Costa Rican expert in international trade, told Infobae.
The Chinese model consists of offering non-reimbursable cooperation in exchange for diplomatic recognition, which translates into symbolic gifts and a marked trade imbalance. In 2012, China proposed six special economic zones, which the Costa Rican government rejected, and in 2018, Costa Rica joined the Belt and Road Initiative in an attempt to foster greater economic ties. However, these efforts did little to close the growing trade gap. Costa Rica still faces a trade deficit of nearly 90 percent in its relationship with China, a fact that highlights a fundamental miscalculation.
“Costa Rica never realized what it meant to make a long-term commitment to China […]. It did not understand what it was really getting into,” Carlos Cascane, an academic at the University of Costa Rica, told Diálogo. “For a small country like ours, thinking that China could balance our exports with the United States was always a pipe dream.”
Diplomatic pressure
China’s diplomatic pressure on Costa Rica extends beyond telecommunications. In June 2025, the Chinese Embassy issued a statement after it was revealed that five agents from the National Intelligence and Security Directorate (DIS) had received training in Taiwan, underscoring Beijing’s sensitivity to any official contact with the island.
“Costa Rica’s closeness to the United States has been a constant in its foreign policy. That relationship is reflected in intelligence sharing, training programs, and security cooperation, on which the country largely depends,” Cascante said. “In the end, that connection with Washington weighs more heavily for Costa Rica than any promise made by China.”
Public opinion and influence
Murillo argues that China has struggled to shape public opinion or influence the national political agenda. “Beijing has not understood the country’s political culture or has failed in its communication strategy. Even initiatives such as scholarships and short-term invitations to China have not generated the influence they expected.”
In Central America, Costa Rica, along with Nicaragua and Honduras, demonstrates that the supposed commercial benefits of agreements with China rarely materialize.
“If we add the issue of 5G to the unfinished projects and the general cooling of ties, I would say that today the relationship between Costa Rica and China is at its lowest point since the establishment of relations in 2007,” Cascante concluded.
