Americas Quarterly - Winter 2012

ASK THE EXPERTS

113 Connie Mack China is an economic and political threat—but it’s not too late.

114 Don Hanna Demonizing or sanctifying China is not a sensible response.

CONGRESSMAN CONNIE MACK

Does China represent an economic and political threat to the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere?

114
Luis Fleischman
China resents the
U.S. presence
in Asia and is
dramatically
increasing its
presence in the
Americas.

115 Minxin Pei Chinese influence in Latin America is modest and cannot compete with the United States.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE AU THORS

CONGRESSMAN CONNIE MACK is chairman of the U. S. House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

China’s economic ex- pansion is rapidly fill- ing spaces vacated and ignored by the United States. In the Western Hemisphere, the lack of a coherent U.S. foreign policy has left the door wide open for a variety of actors. China hasn’t hesitated.

While the U.S. waited five years
to pass free-trade agreements with
Colombia and Panama, China has
been working with Colombia on de-
veloping a coast-to-coast railroad as
an alternative to the Panama Canal.
While the U. S. spends four years dith-
ering over the Keystone XL pipeline,
a slam-dunk energy project with an-
other hemispheric ally—Canada—
China has made preparations to buy
Canadian oil through new pipelines
and invested heavily in national oil
companies in Brazil and Venezuela.
China has invested in Peru’s min-
ing, oil, wood, fishing, and tourism
sectors. Chinese groups have signed
agreements in Brazil and Argentina
to develop millions of acres of farm-
land to boost its food security. China’s
trade with Latin America has grown
by double digits annually since 2006,
while U.S. direct investment has
dropped. China is an economic and
political threat and has made signifi-
cant gains—but it is not too late. The
Barack Obama administration’s lack
of leadership with regard to Latin
America doesn’t mean the U.S. must
resign itself to a Chinese-centric hemi-
sphere. Despite its economic might
and influence, China doesn’t enjoy
the cultural and logistical connec-
tions with Latin America that the U. S.
takes for granted. The peoples of our
two regions share values like freedom
of speech, democracy and the hope
for a safe and secure environment in
which our children can prosper.
Connections like these, with neigh-
bors near our borders, should give
the U. S. an unbeatable advantage. It’s
time the Obama team puts forth a
foreign policy that takes Latin Amer-
ica seriously or steps aside before it’s
too late.