China’s Influence in the Developing World
Over the last decade, China has significantly expanded its influence in the developing world through trade agreements and infrastructure contracts. In fact, according to a Wall Street Journal article, “China is the world’s No. 1 source of international development finance, with some $1.34 trillion in loans and grants disbursed over 22 years for 20,985 projects in 165 low- and middle-income nations.” It has certainly become China’s intention to own as much sovereign debt as it can, as evidenced by its approximately $859 billion worth of US debt that it owns. However, what is more concerning is the increasingly favorable sentiment the developing world seems to have towards China relative to the West.
Many scholars will argue that this phenomenon results from the fact that China does not seek to impose either classical liberal or neoliberal values on non Western nations, and if the United States did not involve itself in the domestic political affairs of developing countries, there would be no favorability to China. However, it is my opinion that it does remain the responsibility of the United States to advance Western values in relationships with the developing world, and to set American value standards for the countries with whom it interacts remains nonnegotiable.
As a result, one must examine another trend in American policy over the last decade that is responsible for this increasing shift towards China, and that is increased trade protectionism. To illustrate, in Latin America, a region in which the United States has always exhibited dominance, the country of Uruguay, which also happens to be a relatively affluent, democratic country, has shifted towards China. According to a Wall Street Journal article, “for years, Uruguay has tried and failed to get a free-trade deal with the U.S. The center-right government here in Montevideo is now negotiating one with China, which has stepped up donations to the country’s schools, hospitals and military in recent years.” The article goes further, even describing a “school, a steel and glass structure where students take Mandarin classes and learn how to make mooncakes, traditional Chinese pastries. The poorest kids have never before been as far as the beach, which is 5 miles away, but they now dream of going to China, she said,” and the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, is quoted as explaining, “The U.S., the land of the free and the free market is seeing a rise in protectionism.”
Regardless of the political debate over free trade, clearly, the United States is no longer in a position to engage in restrictive trade practices if it wishes to maintain its influence and relationship with the developing world. Trade agreements and financial contracts are the proxy wars of a new era of great power competition and should be pursued liberally and aggressively. Otherwise, countries around the world will continue to turn to and eventually align with China.