MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China's “only interest” in Latam is finite resources

China is willing to invest billons of US dollars in Latinamerica to ensure the supply of natural resources but the region's leaders are wrong if they believe that “ideological similarities” guarantee a long cooperation since the interest of Beijing is opportunity, according to the Hong Kong based “China Economic Review”.

"China's interest is linked to finite resources therefore those leaders who believe ideology is attached to long term projects with China, might find themselves with the unpleasant surprise that interest disappears with oil", argues the monthly publication which was launched in 1990. "Latinamerican policy is so infested with the ideology virus that many leaders simply don't interpret adequately the signals", says the magazine adding that according to official Beijing figures half of the country's overseas investments have been going to the Americas. The publication also underlines that no government in Latinamerica be it from the extreme left to the extreme right, from Mexico to Argentina, has been able to solve the problem of poverty, and "in over a century the economies have been unable to take off". China's diplomatic and financial efforts in Latinamerica have been formidable: President Hu Jintao has spent in the last six years more time in the region than his counterpart US president George W Bush, "with the purpose of conquering minds and souls of the current Latinamerican political leadership". Similarly vice president Zeng Qinghong and Primer Minister Wen Jiabao and other high ranking Chinese officials have traveled extensively in Latinamerica and have received in Beijing numerous leaders from the region. "Beijing's interest in a region full of natural resources is strictly economic and China has even designed individual strategies for purchases in each country". China Economic Review gives the example of Chile, world leader in copper production and first country to reach a free trade agreement with China in 2005, almost at the same time that Beijing was signing a long term supply agreement with Codelco, the Chilean government owned copper mining company. The magazine mentions Brazil received promises of support for infrastructure in exchange for iron and Argentina has covered half of its territory with the much coveted soybeans for China in exchange for railways. Other political interests in the region include ensuring support against countries that still recognize Taiwan: Paraguay, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica. In the case of Paraguay, if it continues supporting Taiwan, relations between Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela and Paraguay) and China will not prosper argues the magazine. However, most Latinamerican countries can expect to benefit from China's Authorized Destinations for Chinese travelers whose spending could represent significant income for the region. "But overall Latinamerica is trapped in a state of "magic realism" and is unable with the possible exception of Mexico, of reading with clarity the signals of the theoretical losses that the potential benefits could represent", says the magazine adding that Mexico is well aware of the damage that China has and can further inflict to its domestic textile industry. In this scenario "the most naive and with the most potential for the greatest disappointment is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez", who honestly relieves he can count with China as an ally in its own conflict with United States. "But China still walks softly in the area because it's well aware that Latinamerica is the US backyard", underlines China's Economic Review. In spite of having become the "new favorite friend", Beijing is not going to sacrifice a finely worked and nurtured equilibrium with Washington to support a small country, with some oil, and of a quality that is not that convenient, concludes the article.