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Beijing on the Ballot: How China Shapes Latin America’s Elections

It’s a busy time for politics in Latin America. In the next year, many countries will go to the polls to elect new presidents. Within this context, a clear trend is taking shape: across the region, candidates’ positions on China are ...

The Grand Dream: China’s Stakes in Nicaragua’s Canal

As China and the United States vie for influence and access in Latin America, the Panama Canal has reemerged as a strategic chokepoint. Washington is moving to limit Beijing’s access while China scrambles for other options. Sensing an opening, Managua has revived its long-dormant dream of a ...

In Bolivia, China’s Lithium Extraction Plans Went to the Polls and Lost Badly 

Bolivia’s presidential elections have thrown the future of its lithium sector into doubt — and the country’s relationship with China has gone along with it. The first round of voting in late August ended two decades of rule by leftist party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), and now, ...

Beyond Cooperation: How China-CELAC Relations are Evolving

The 4th Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC (which stands for Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum closed with the unveiling of the 4th Joint Plan of Action for Cooperation in Key Areas (2025-2027). Since its formal establishment ten years ago, the Joint Plans of Action ...

Betting on Beijing: How a Diplomatic Switch Sank Honduras’s Shrimp Exports

In 2023, Honduras severed ties with Taiwan and recognized China, betting that access to one of the world’s largest markets would bring new prosperity. The move was hailed by President Xiomara Castro’s government as a strategic step toward bigger trade deals and deeper economic cooperation. 

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Revealing Reactions to China’s Festival of Optics

In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...

Amid Fuel Shortages, Cuba Looks to China for Energy Solutions

Cuba is in the middle of a profound energy crisis — and China sees an opening. As Havana struggles with crumbling infrastructure, dwindling oil imports, and a decades-long economic downturn, Beijing is stepping in to fill the void left by its traditional allies, Russia and Venezuela. The ...

Small State, Big Gains: Why Dominica Matters in China’s Global Strategy

In contemporary international relations, the diplomacy of small states is of utmost importance. Though grand geopolitical narratives often overshadow this fact, one major power has not forgotten: China. Putting aside its broader strategic objectives, Beijing has excelled in small-state diplomacy. The numbers don’t lie; China has the ...

Huawei Out, Washington In: Panama’s 5G Reset

When the U.S. Embassy in Panama announced in June that telecommunications equipment from Huawei—a Chinese tech giant—would be replaced with “secure American technology” at 13 sites across the country, it was more than a routine tech upgrade. It was a clear signal. 

Brazil’s BRICS Balancing Act Faces a New Test in Rio

The 17th BRICS Summit kicks off this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, but preserving the group’s original mantra of non-alignment is proving to be a challenge for Brazil, the summit’s host. Since returning to power, President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva ...

In China, Ecuador’s Noboa Looks for Breathing Room and Bargains

With a tightening fiscal clock and the weight of geopolitical balancing on his shoulders, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa touched down in China last week with more than just a forum appearance on his agenda. His trip to the 2025 Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin doubled as a ...

How Paraguay’s Veto Power Could Reshape China’s Trade Future in South America

Amid a flurry of headline-grabbing geopolitical developments, one story has flown largely under the radar: several recent signals from within Paraguay suggest a potential shift in the country’s long-standing diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. While it might seem like just another chapter in the long-running contest between Beijing ...

New Corridor, New Strategy: China’s Bi-Oceanic Railway and Latin America’s Trade Route Battleground

A series of geopolitical pressures is forcing China to rethink its approach to Latin America’s strategic waterways. Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office, Washington has stepped up efforts to curtail Chinese influence in the Panama Canal, a vital artery for global trade and military logistics. ...
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