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Prioritizing Socio-Ecological Protections: Study Shows Deregulation Doesn’t Attract Chinese Investment

By Christina Duran In a March 2023 synthetic report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized that Central and South America face adverse impacts from increased climate damage “without rapid, deep and sustained mitigation and accelerated adaptation action,” which ...

Ecuador’s New Free Trade Pact With China Provokes Lots of Excitement and Even More Questions

By Chris Alden and Alvaro Mendez The ongoing political crisis in Ecuador, which saw President Guillermo Lasso dissolve the National Assembly and trigger an election, came against the backdrop of the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. This ...

China’s Free Trade Agreements in the Global South: Quito and Beijing

By Alvaro Mendez and Chris Alden After eleven months and five rounds of negotiations, Ecuador announced last month that it has completed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. It still has to obtain legislative approval, but we believe it will ...

Pepe Zhang on What to Expect This Year in China-Latin America Relations

China's two-way trade with countries in the Americas increased 8% last year to $486 billion, nearly twice the volume of what China does in Africa. South America is now a vital source of food, energy, and strategic minerals for China, ...

Pressure Mounting on Biden to Counter China’s Free Trade Push in South America

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso's visit to Washington this week prompted urgent calls from Capitol Hill for the President to do more to counter China's growing influence in South America. Lasso met with Biden on Monday at the White House ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Philippine Fishing Fleets Urged to Maintain Presence at Disputed Shoal as Tensions Build

The Philippine coastguard called on its country’s fishing fleets to keep operating around the Scarborough Shoal (known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Dao in China) despite the large Chinese presence in the disputed South China Sea area.
Coastguard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said while Philippine government vessels can’t maintain a constant presence, they are committed to protecting the country’s fishing rights in what it sees as its Exclusive Economic Zone.

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Ecuador President Arrives in Washington With Nearly-Complete Chinese Trade Deal in His Back Pocket

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso will be at the White House on Monday for talks with President Joe Biden. The two leaders reportedly will address a broad range of issues, from Ecuador's appeal for more U.S. support to fight drug cartels to Washington's request for Lasso's administration to ...

China to the Rescue? China’s Liquidity Finance Should Be Welcomed but Not Gambled With

By Kevin P. Gallagher China is being criticized for stepping up its policy to provide liquidity financing in the form of loans and currency swaps for countries in distress for the wrong reasons. Providing such liquidity shows that China is ...

Ecuador is the Latest Developing Country to Restructure Chinese Debt

The Ecuadorian government announced a major debt restructuring deal with China's two largest policy banks that will provide $1.4 billion of debt service relief over the next three years. President Guillermo Lasso said his administration reached an agreement this week ...