EL TIPO DE CAMBIO DE HOY ES DE: Statement on Defending the Western Hemisphere from China’s Malign Influence
Miami, Florida. – We are the Carvalho Dialogue. In 2009, the Brazilian philosopher and educator Olavo de Carvalho warned that the Foro de São Paulo, the world’s largest coalition of Marxist parties, individuals, non-governmental organizations, and terrorist groups, was dismantling democratic institutions throughout the Americas. This made it necessary for their opponents to develop a new, multilateral perspective, and collectively act if they were to defend their countries. We have common enemies.
In 2023, friends and allies from across the United States, Canada, and the Iberosphere who share a commitment to advancing freedom, security, and prosperity released the Miami Statement, addressing the main common challenges to liberty and public safety in the Western Hemisphere. Now, we focus on how best to coordinate our efforts to defend our hemisphere against the malign influence of an increasingly aggressive China.
China’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean has increased significantly in recent years. China’s trade with the region, just $20 billion in 2000, surpassed $489 billion in 2023 and is projected to hit $700 billion by 2035. Today, nearly most countries in the Westen Hemisphere counts China among their most important trading partners. While the U.S. remains the top trading partner of Latin America as a whole, China is catching up fast and already has the top spot in South America.
Though the U.S. remains the biggest investor in most countries in the hemisphere, China is making inroads through Belt and Road projects. The American non-governmental organization AidData recently identified over $286 billion worth of Chinese infrastructure projects in Latin America alone, a figure that is rapidly approaching the value of China’s investments in Africa.
China’s infrastructure investment fills development needs and may help increase regional connectivity, but it comes at a high cost. Many projects come embedded with technologies or preconditions that threaten the recipient country’s national security, and sometimes their sovereignty. The Chancay Port, inaugurated in Peru in 2024, is a case in point. Prior to the opening, Peru was coerced into amending its National Port System Law to allow COSCO Shipping exclusive use of the Chancay port the Chinese state-owned shipping giant was building. Adding to the concerns, U.S. military officers have warned a port of its size could dock Chinese military vessels in the future.
Diplomatically, China has exerted significant pressure on regional countries to derecognize democratic Taiwan in favor of Beijing. In 2016, 11 countries in the Western Hemisphere maintained formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but that number now stands at just 7. In many cases, Beijing used promises of investment to bribe countries to sever ties with Taiwan. These promises often go unfulfilled. For example, China’s investment into Costa Rica plummeted after it switched recognition to Beijing in 2007, and the U.S. remains, by far, the biggest investor into that country.
At the Carvalho Dialogue, we uphold the sovereignty of states and the right of all countries in our hemisphere to make their own decisions regarding economic and diplomatic policy. We further recognize that China is exploiting actual needs of countries in our hemisphere that are not being filled by other partners. There is no problem with normal economic engagement with China or any other country, but we must not allow Beijing’s growing presence in the hemisphere to foster instability or erode our cherished democratic norms.
To this end, we call upon the various states in our hemisphere to work together, as well as with extra-regional partners, to develop alternatives to trade and investment dependencies on China. At the same time, we call upon all countries in the hemisphere to uphold our fundamental four NOs in their dealings with China:
1. No strategic dependences. Like most countries in the world today, those in the Western Hemisphere depend on China for many critical goods, from rare earth minerals to pharmaceuticals to manufactured products. They also depend on China’s insatiable market of 1.4 billion people to purchase many of their experts, particularly in agriculture and energy. We call for hemispheric cooperation in overcoming these dependencies through tasks such as exploiting more of the abundant rare earth minerals scattered throughout the hemisphere and developing the region’s manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, no country in the hemisphere should allow itself to become dependent on China for renewable energy sources of which Beijing has a near monopoly.
2. No military cooperation. Nothing would destabilize the Western Hemisphere more than a Chinese military presence. Such a development would risk moving the center of gravity in U.S.-China strategic competition from East Asia to the Americas, increasing the risk of a great power conflict in our neighborhood for the first time since the colonial era. This is a real threat. Beijing seeks to push the U.S. military out of Asia and, to this end, may attempt to create security challenges Washington must address in its own periphery. It does not need military bases in the region to do this. To preserve regional peace and stability, Western Hemisphere countries should refrain from cooperating with China’s military and end agreements that permit the Chinese military to run satellite stations in regional countries’ territories.
3. No ignoring spying, intellectual property theft, transnational criminal activity, and destabilizing actions or influence operations. China actively infringes on the sovereignty of countries throughout the world through its espionage activities and by engaging in unsanctioned police operations outside of their jurisdiction that target individuals in other countries. No country can overcome these activities on its own. Cooperation among like-minded countries is essential.
4. No ignoring human right abuses. China is among the world’s most prolific human rights abusers. It seeks to use its position in the United Nations to erode global human rights norms, which it perceives as a threat to its legitimacy. Western Hemisphere countries must work together to keep the pressure on China over its human rights record and resist pressure and enticements to water down human rights norms in the UN and other international bodies. Doing so may curry favor with Beijing, but any benefit that brings is negated by the negative impacts on the global norms that help undergird the political and social stability of many countries on this hemisphere.
Signed
- Rodrigo Arenas – República
- Kaush Arha
- James Jay Carafano
- Juan Pablo Chamon – LIBERA Bolivia
- Alejandro Chafuen – International Freedom Educational Foundation
- Sergio Delapena – Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense For Western Hemisphere Affairs
- Carlos Diaz-Rosillo
- Hon. Víctor González Coello de Portugal
- Simon Hankinson
- Steven Hecht – Impunity Observer
- Phillip Linderman – The Ben Franklin Fellowship
- Melissa Ford Maldonado – America First Policy Institute
- Bernardo J. Rico – Americas Solutions
- Sonia Cavallo Runde - Former Permanent Representative of Argentina to the Organization of American States
- Greg Sindelar – Texas Public Policy Foundation
- Juan A. Soto – Fortius
- Matthew Tyrmand
- Hon. Robert Wilkie – Center for American Security
- Ricardo Ferrer Picado
Statement on Defending the Western Hemisphere from China’s Malign Influence
Miami, Florida. – We are the Carvalho Dialogue. In 2009, the Brazilian philosopher and educator Olavo de Carvalho warned that the Foro de São Paulo, the world’s largest coalition of Marxist parties, individuals, non-governmental organizations, and terrorist groups, was dismantling democratic institutions throughout the Americas. This made it necessary for their opponents to develop a new, multilateral perspective, and collectively act if they were to defend their countries. We have common enemies.
In 2023, friends and allies from across the United States, Canada, and the Iberosphere who share a commitment to advancing freedom, security, and prosperity released the Miami Statement, addressing the main common challenges to liberty and public safety in the Western Hemisphere. Now, we focus on how best to coordinate our efforts to defend our hemisphere against the malign influence of an increasingly aggressive China.
China’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean has increased significantly in recent years. China’s trade with the region, just $20 billion in 2000, surpassed $489 billion in 2023 and is projected to hit $700 billion by 2035. Today, nearly most countries in the Westen Hemisphere counts China among their most important trading partners. While the U.S. remains the top trading partner of Latin America as a whole, China is catching up fast and already has the top spot in South America.
Though the U.S. remains the biggest investor in most countries in the hemisphere, China is making inroads through Belt and Road projects. The American non-governmental organization AidData recently identified over $286 billion worth of Chinese infrastructure projects in Latin America alone, a figure that is rapidly approaching the value of China’s investments in Africa.
China’s infrastructure investment fills development needs and may help increase regional connectivity, but it comes at a high cost. Many projects come embedded with technologies or preconditions that threaten the recipient country’s national security, and sometimes their sovereignty. The Chancay Port, inaugurated in Peru in 2024, is a case in point. Prior to the opening, Peru was coerced into amending its National Port System Law to allow COSCO Shipping exclusive use of the Chancay port the Chinese state-owned shipping giant was building. Adding to the concerns, U.S. military officers have warned a port of its size could dock Chinese military vessels in the future.
Diplomatically, China has exerted significant pressure on regional countries to derecognize democratic Taiwan in favor of Beijing. In 2016, 11 countries in the Western Hemisphere maintained formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but that number now stands at just 7. In many cases, Beijing used promises of investment to bribe countries to sever ties with Taiwan. These promises often go unfulfilled. For example, China’s investment into Costa Rica plummeted after it switched recognition to Beijing in 2007, and the U.S. remains, by far, the biggest investor into that country.
At the Carvalho Dialogue, we uphold the sovereignty of states and the right of all countries in our hemisphere to make their own decisions regarding economic and diplomatic policy. We further recognize that China is exploiting actual needs of countries in our hemisphere that are not being filled by other partners. There is no problem with normal economic engagement with China or any other country, but we must not allow Beijing’s growing presence in the hemisphere to foster instability or erode our cherished democratic norms.
To this end, we call upon the various states in our hemisphere to work together, as well as with extra-regional partners, to develop alternatives to trade and investment dependencies on China. At the same time, we call upon all countries in the hemisphere to uphold our fundamental four NOs in their dealings with China:
1. No strategic dependences. Like most countries in the world today, those in the Western Hemisphere depend on China for many critical goods, from rare earth minerals to pharmaceuticals to manufactured products. They also depend on China’s insatiable market of 1.4 billion people to purchase many of their experts, particularly in agriculture and energy. We call for hemispheric cooperation in overcoming these dependencies through tasks such as exploiting more of the abundant rare earth minerals scattered throughout the hemisphere and developing the region’s manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, no country in the hemisphere should allow itself to become dependent on China for renewable energy sources of which Beijing has a near monopoly.
2. No military cooperation. Nothing would destabilize the Western Hemisphere more than a Chinese military presence. Such a development would risk moving the center of gravity in U.S.-China strategic competition from East Asia to the Americas, increasing the risk of a great power conflict in our neighborhood for the first time since the colonial era. This is a real threat. Beijing seeks to push the U.S. military out of Asia and, to this end, may attempt to create security challenges Washington must address in its own periphery. It does not need military bases in the region to do this. To preserve regional peace and stability, Western Hemisphere countries should refrain from cooperating with China’s military and end agreements that permit the Chinese military to run satellite stations in regional countries’ territories.
3. No ignoring spying, intellectual property theft, transnational criminal activity, and destabilizing actions or influence operations. China actively infringes on the sovereignty of countries throughout the world through its espionage activities and by engaging in unsanctioned police operations outside of their jurisdiction that target individuals in other countries. No country can overcome these activities on its own. Cooperation among like-minded countries is essential.
4. No ignoring human right abuses. China is among the world’s most prolific human rights abusers. It seeks to use its position in the United Nations to erode global human rights norms, which it perceives as a threat to its legitimacy. Western Hemisphere countries must work together to keep the pressure on China over its human rights record and resist pressure and enticements to water down human rights norms in the UN and other international bodies. Doing so may curry favor with Beijing, but any benefit that brings is negated by the negative impacts on the global norms that help undergird the political and social stability of many countries on this hemisphere.
Signed
- Rodrigo Arenas – República
- Kaush Arha
- James Jay Carafano
- Juan Pablo Chamon – LIBERA Bolivia
- Alejandro Chafuen – International Freedom Educational Foundation
- Sergio Delapena – Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense For Western Hemisphere Affairs
- Carlos Diaz-Rosillo
- Hon. Víctor González Coello de Portugal
- Simon Hankinson
- Steven Hecht – Impunity Observer
- Phillip Linderman – The Ben Franklin Fellowship
- Melissa Ford Maldonado – America First Policy Institute
- Bernardo J. Rico – Americas Solutions
- Sonia Cavallo Runde - Former Permanent Representative of Argentina to the Organization of American States
- Greg Sindelar – Texas Public Policy Foundation
- Juan A. Soto – Fortius
- Matthew Tyrmand
- Hon. Robert Wilkie – Center for American Security
- Ricardo Ferrer Picado
