Latin America, don’t test the State Department: A shift in US policy in response to China’s presence in the region

The State Department is taking China's presence in Latin America very seriously. With Marco Rubio at the helm and Christopher Landau as Deputy Secretary, this institution now has a leadership that really knows what's going on in the region, and from the first week it made that clear. The situation has changed and the countries that continue to allow the Chinese regime to move forward will have to face the United States. First, it was the warning to Panama, now it’s Colombia's turn.

"President Petro's rapprochement with China is a great opportunity for Ecuador's roses and Central America's coffee," said Mauricio Claver-Carone, the State Department's special envoy for Latin America, about the Colombian president's trip to China and his intention to strengthen trade relations with that regime.

China has been making progress in Latin America for years

In an interview with Voz, Secretary Rubio explained a few months ago the danger that China poses to the region. He assured that the regime has presence in many Latin American countries where through doubtful business deals it takes over natural resources for the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party, he also highlighted the telecommunications business.

Secretary Rubio further asserted in our interview last year, before the Trump Administration came to power, that the United States had not made the necessary effort to give Latin American countries an alternative and curb China's dangerous advance. Now that Rubio is at the helm at the State Department the matter has changed. One of his first tasks was to address the situation in Panama, which among other issues included that country's relations with China. Just days after his visit, Panama announced that it would not renew the Silk Road agreement with China.

China has been advancing in Latin America for years. It has become the region's second most important trading partner after the United States. It has invested heavily in telecommunications and technology projects, and in several countries it has displaced the US as the top trading partner.

Huawei, for example, has received contracts for the supply of telecommunications equipment in countries such as Costa Rica and Bolivia. China has also established agreements with several countries to collaborate on cybersecurity and data management issues, which given China's history of stealing information and acting as an open enemy of the United States, constitutes a security risk for the region and our country.

China has also made millions of dollars in investments in Latin America in strategic infrastructure, assuring that the intention is to facilitate trade between the region and the Asian country, but there are also many criticisms about the conditions under which these investments are signed, in some cases giving too much power to China over natural resources and infrastructure operation. Also widely criticized are the risky conditions under which China lends money to some Latin American countries. Some experts have pointed out that beyond a trade plan, what they are looking for is a plan to control the region.

Does Colombia want to challenge the US in the midst of tariff negotiations?

"We are getting ready for a trip to China. I'm going as president of CELAC, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. I am now twice president, president of Colombia and president of Latin America and the Caribbean," said Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia.

Statements that make for an even more complicated situation, a leftist president, who on several occasions has openly spoken out against the United States, apparently leading the region's increased trade rapprochement with China.

Around 35% of Colombia's exports are destined for the United States, and in a context of tariff negotiations, where the Trump Administration has made it clear that it is willing to confront China with the aim of putting in place new, fairer trade rules, it is not a good idea for Colombia to decide to take sides with the regime.

Latin America should be clear that this State Department knows the region very well. This Administration understands the risk of China wanting to take control of key infrastructure and cybersecurity in the neighborhood. The right path is the one Panama took, choosing the United States over China, not only because the US is the first trading partner and is more powerful, but because objectively doing business with China is risky. It is a regime that has no scruples and is not governed by the rules we know in the West.