Beijing's regional strategy has been driven by the premise that economic engagement can generate long-term geopolitical influence. Recent developments in Latin America are calling this perceived wisdom into question. Panama's decision to formally exit the BRI in 2025 highlights the challenge facing China. Beijing invested heavily in its relationship with Venezuela.
Bolivia's relationship with China has deteriorated since its heyday under the leftist governments of Evo Morales and Luis Arce. China sold Bolivia six K-8 fighter aircraft, six Z-9 military helicopters, 31 armored vehicles, and an unspecified number of trucks and patrol boats between 2006 and 2019. Today, less than 20 China-based companies still operate in Bolivia. Chinese companies are impeded by problems of their own making.
Washington will find it increasingly hard to sell arms to Taiwan as the China-US power gap narrows. Donald Trump's recent visit to Beijing was hailed by him as a "tremendous success". US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said relations between the U.S. and China are better than they've been in many years.
For much of the reform era, the United States occupied a special place in the Chinese imagination. Donald Trump's presidency accelerated a profound reassessment of America and what it represents. Some Chinese welcomed Trump as a pragmatic businessman who appeared less concerned with human rights and therefore easier for Beijing to deal with.
The Pentagon has added several prominent Chinese businesses, including the tech giant Alibaba, electric car maker BYD and search engine Baidu, to its list of Chinese military companies. The Chinese Embassy accused the U.S. of “overstretching the concept of national security and making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies.
The present conflict in the Middle East is forcing Beijing to confront a different problem: physical risks to infrastructure. China’s direct investment in the Mideast reached roughly $89 billion between 2019 and 2024. At least 18 projects financed by China across six countries in the region are either affected or at serious risk, with loans behind them totaling over $6.5 billion.
Monroe Doctrine was a strategy of exclusion to keep external powers from establishing territorial and political control in the Western Hemisphere. China has dramatically expanded its economic, technological, and strategic presence in Latin America and the Caribbean in the last two decades. Beijing has embedded itself into the region’s infrastructure, trade networks, energy systems, digital ecosystems and strategic industries. The United States should compete more aggressively in digital infrastructure, telecommunications, and data governance across Latin America. Washington should focus on financing bankable projects in countries with viable market conditions.
Amid the chaos and cruelty of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, China is enjoying a resurgence of interest online. Influencers are playingfully adopting traditional Chinese medicine-based wellness routines maintained by pensioners in Beijing and celebrating the Blade Runner aesthetic of Chongqing.