China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America: How is the United States Reacting?

Abstract

The U.S. 2022 National Security Strategy has three priorities for the Western Hemisphere: expanding economic opportunities, strengthening democracy, and building security. The United States is the major trading partner in the region so far, providing the most significant foreign investment and military cooperation. However, in the last two decades, China has been more focused on the trade chain, mining, transportation infrastructure development, communication, and maritime infrastructure investment in Latin America than
the United States. China's influence grows yearly in the region because of its expanding economic strategy.
In the 2017 Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping argued that Latin America is a “Natural extension of the 21st Century Silk Road.” After the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (China-CELAC) forum occurred in Santiago in January 2018, seven South American countries signed the BRI Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).