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China’s growing influence in the western hemisphere: US needs a major course correction or suffer grave consequences

Chinese-security-around-Xis-car

Important Takeaways:

  • Bipartisan action is increasingly hard to come by, especially in a presidential election year. But one issue still manages to get attention on both sides of the aisle: China’s growing influence right here in the Americas.
  • That is for good reason. In the first two decades of the 21st century, China’s trade with the region jumped 26-fold to $315 billion while it simultaneously enhanced influence in the technology and security domains. China has used its economic engagement to cement access to vital natural resources, such as lithium, or to push countries in the region to loosen ties with Taiwan.
  • Why is this possible? For one thing, outside the dedicated public sector officials who have Latin America and the Caribbean as part of their portfolios, the United States has historically paid a problematic lack of attention to the region. That didn’t bear the level of direct implications 20 years ago – when China’s economic and political presence in the Americas was minimal – as it does today.
  • Presidential action is important but policies that can span administrations come from the power of Congress.
  • Thus, it’s welcome news that senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), alongside House co-sponsors representatives Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) introduced the Americas Act on March 5. The bill seeks to marshal the collective resources, institutions, and international agreements of the U.S. government to incentivize investment in the hemisphere and to show our regional partners that strong ties with the United States can bring concrete support in addition to words of encouragement.
  • The bill proposes a much-anticipated, welcome set of policy tools—from e-governance to commerce—to advance prosperity in the hemisphere while simultaneously beginning to check China’s economic ambitions.
  • The introduction of the Americas Act is also a welcome reminder that the situation demands not just a response, but a long-term strategy. If the United States fails to actively compete with its primary authoritarian revivals, nations in the region may continue to be persuaded to prioritize engagement with China in sectors detrimental to U.S. interests.
  • Absent a strategic course correction, the United States will find itself more vulnerable close to home. That would be an unfortunate new reality with grave consequences for U.S. power projection globally.

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