Journal of Haiti and the Americas
China/Latin America: “asymmetrical relations”
Audio 7:30 p.m.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentinian counterpart Alberto Fernandez, after a meeting on February 6, 2022 in Beijing (China).
© via REUTERS - ARGENTINA PRESIDENCY
By: Mikaël Ponge Follow |
Mikael Ponge Follow
3 mins
If, since the year 2000, the United States has gradually shown a growing lack of interest in Latin America;
China has rushed into the breach.
After Africa, Beijing saw in this region a new land for obtaining supplies but also for investing.
How did Latin America become China's backyard?
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In 2008, Beijing published its white paper on relations with Latin America and the Caribbean,
“a turning point”
, according to our guest geographer Emmanuel Veron.
This specialist in China recalls, however, that
“the rise in power of trade, of the diplomatic fabric, of deployment in infrastructures, throughout Latin America”
dates back to the previous decade.
Today, China has become Latin America's second largest trading partner.
In 2000,
“trade between the two was around 12 billion dollars, 20 years later on the eve of the Covid pandemic, we are at 350 billion dollars exchanged.
For Brazil alone, the main partner, we are at nearly 140 billion dollars exchanged”,
notes Emmanuel Veron.
With the establishment of the new Silk Roads by Beijing,
“we are witnessing a surge of loan investments, which concern all areas”.
"We are in an asymmetrical situation to the benefit of China",
notes the specialist who underlines
"the dependence"
of Latin America
"in infrastructures, in the agricultural field, in the field of mining extraction"
to with regard to China.
United States: timid positions taken by big companies in favor of abortion
According to a recent CNN poll, 30% of Republicans, 65% of Independents and 81% of Democrats do not want the Supreme Court to completely reverse abortion rights.
An investigation carried out following the revelations of Politico concerning a possible questioning by the Supreme Court of the Roe versus Wade decision which guarantees the right to abortion at the federal level.
Since this leak, a few companies have taken a stand: Amazon will pay the medical and transport costs of its employees who want to have an abortion, Tesla and Apple will do the same.
But past these big names, no other major American company has taken a stand.
According to a poll by Politico magazine, only half of voters want companies to take a stand on abortion rights.
Haiti: what assessment for Franz Elbe at the head of the PNH?
This May 9, 2022, the Director General of the National Police must address the press to take stock of his first six months at the helm of the PNH.
But,
"can we talk about a balance sheet when part of the south of Port-au-Prince is inaccessible, while kidnapping and gang warfare are normalizing"
, asks
the Rezonodwès site
.
Sunday (May 8, 2022) again "public transport passengers were ransomed by bandits in Martissant".
Haiti, where the message of support sent by Ariel Henry to Cuba after the accidental explosion which blew up a hotel in Havana on Friday (May 6, 2022) killing 31 people, caused a lot of reaction.
The Prime Minister having, for the moment, refrained from commenting on the clashes between gangs northeast of Port-au-Prince in which at least 75 people were killed.
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