The following is a summary of a column by Latin America analyst Stephanie Miller on what growing Chinese-Latin America relations mean for the United States. The full column is available here.
Ties between China and Latin America have recently grown, raising the question from American policymakers on how the United States should view the growing in a region once considered safely within the United States’ sphere of influence, writes Latin America analyst Stephanie Miller.
According to Miller, despite concerns about the motives behind China’s growing presence and influence in the region, China has the potential to positively influence policy in Latin America if effective collaboration with the United States in areas such as crime prevention and democracy promotion is sought.
“China’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean will continue to grow. So the sooner the Obama administration can find ways to cooperate with China in the region the better. Doing so would strengthen the United States’ standing in the region and would foster trust with one of its most important global economic partners,” says Miller.
Read the full column
Stephanie Miller is currently a consultant on U.S.-Latin America relations and was formerly the Research Associate for the Americas Project at the Center.