China South America » – South America –

Reality? Or the creation of a far-fetched “external threat?”

Benito — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:02:44 +0000

The UK’s Telegraph ran a interesting story yesterday, citing General Sir Michael Jackson.

Britain faces ‘impossible’ battle if Argentina invades Falklands, warns General Sir Michael Jackson

The men who served under this former head of the Army used to call him Darth Vader, and it’s easy to see why.

The deep, gravelly growl, the fierce stare and the air of absolute authority make him an intimidating figure, even when he’s just offering a cup of tea at his home in west London. “Earl Grey,” sounds like an order, not an offer.

This 67-year-old expects people to listen when he speaks, and right now he is giving a startling warning about the Falklands, prompted by the “disagreeable noises coming from Buenos Aires”. He chooses his words carefully, but their meaning is clear.

“The official answer will be that it would not be possible for the Argentinians to gain a foothold on the islands, in particular to take Mount Pleasant airfield, which is key to the British defence plan.

Defences on the Falklands are better now – by a factor of several tens –than they were in 1982. We have a large international-sized airfield to allow for very rapid reinforcement by air, should circumstances so require. But I suppose I have learned in life, never say never.”

Click here to read the complete article from the Telegraph.co.uk

NYT: Latin America Looks at West’s Fiscal Crises, and Sees Its Own Past

Benito — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:54:21 +0000

RIO DE JANEIRO — Sometimes it comes in the form of a news dispatch, like the item from Milan explaining how Italians fret about “the spread,” a term used to refer to the gap between their high borrowing costs and the lower interest rates for Germany.

The angst has included protests in Spain, images of rioters in London or the police using pepper spray to disperse demonstrators in California.

And, of course, there is the steady drip of reports focusing on default fears in Greece.

For many months now, Latin Americans have been monitoring the constant drumbeat of crises in developed countries with bewilderment, irony and, yes, even a bit of schadenfreude. To them, Europe and the United States are displaying problems once associated with their region, which, not long ago, was a perennial champion in financial crises and bailouts.

Click here to read the full article from the NYT.com

Rare question and answer Xinhua Exclusive on China- Latam relations

Benito — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:57:12 +0000

Thank you Xinhua News. Please click here to access the article from Xinhua News.

China to deepen ties with Latin-America

2012-01-17 17:26 chinadaily.com.cn

Yang Wanming, director-general of the the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, exchanged views with chinanews.com readers online on Tuesday afternoon.

Yang Wanming, director-generalof the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, answers questions from chinanews.com readers online on Jan 17, 2012. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Topic: China-Latin America cooperation in culture

Q: How do China and Latin America cooperate in the field of culture?

A: China has opened 32 Confucius institutes in Latin America, covering almost all Latin American countries. Both sides also send art troupes to visit one another and conduct people-to-people exchanges. Many Chinese people like their football, music and dances and engage in studying Spanish and Portuguese. Many Chinese books have also been translated into Spanish and sold in Latin America.

Topic: Cooperation in energy

Q: What’s the current situation with Sino-Latin American energy cooperation? Some people think China is plundering energy resources there and uses it as a way to curb the US.

A: China is trying to carry out comprehensive cooperation with Latin American countries and its efforts have been well welcomed by them. The cooperation not only benefits the two parties, but also contributes to global peace, stability and prosperity. It started late and is on a relatively small scale, but has been developing fast. China imported 20.73 million tons of crude oil from Latin American countries in 2010, which accounts for 8.7 percent of China’s total import in that year. Venezuela has become China’s 4th largest oil provider. The two parties will explore cooperation on new energy. It’s totally based on equality and mutual benefit and will do no harm to the third party.

Topic: US view on China-Latin America relationship

Q: The relationship between China and Latin American countries has developed so fast. What do you think of the feeling in the US to this?

A: In recent years, the independence of Latin American countries is growing and its economic growth momentum becomes more diverse than before.

The rapid development of China-Latin America relations is on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win for both sides and is within the needs of Latin American countries’ diversified diplomacy and development strategy.

It will not only benefit development of both, but also contribute to the world’s stability and development.

China and the US have already established a consultation mechanism on Latin-America, and through four different consultations, the two parties have enhanced their mutual trust on this issue.

And the US has repeatedly stressed in their consultations that strengthening relations between China and Latin American countries will be good for Latin-America’s stability and development.

Topic: Chinese workers kidnapped in Colombia

Q: It was reported that several Chinese employees were kidnapped in Colombia by unidentified armed militants. How are they now? Could you release some information about the rescue efforts?

A: Four Chinese workers were kidnapped by some unknown armed militants in Caquetá province in Colombia on June 8, 2011. We have urged the Colombia authority to spare no effort to carry on the rescue work under the premise of guaranteeing the safety of hostages. Since then, the Chinese embassy in Colombia has kept in close cooperation and contact with Colombia’s relevant departments. The rescue work has not finished yet, but the safety of the four hostages can be guaranteed. Chinese companies are facing more risks as they go global on a larger scale. We need to increase our political backup and diplomatic guarantee to them, strengthen the consular protection and safeguard their legitimate interests. Meanwhile we advise Chinese people in Latin America to improve their sense of safety and precaution.

Q: How about China-Mexico relations?

A: China and Mexico are both developing countries and are working at enhancing people’s living standards. They hold the same positions on many international issues and regularly cooperate on these..

China and Mexico have some trade friction over trade imbalance problems, but we hope both sides can deal with the problems reasonably and from a development point of view.

We hope both can take active measures to promote the diverse, comprehensive and healthy development of the two countries’ economic and trade relations.

February 14 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico. We believe the relations can become more comprehensive, steadier and healthier with the two countries’ joint efforts in the future.

Q: Can you talk about the relationship between China and Brazil?

A: Brazil is one of the biggest countries in Latin America and one of the emerging powers in the region. The China-Brazil relationship is one of the most important between China and Latin America.

In recent years, the strategic partnership between China and Brazil has made considerable progress. They maintain a good momentum of high-level exchanges and the political mutual trust is deepened.

Their economical cooperation is also deepening constantly, which has brought tangible benefits to people of both countries. Bilateral trade volume exceeded $80 billion in 2011. Investment cooperation in finance, energy, steel, and machine manufacturing has also made great progress, and is expanding constantly.

China and Brazil have active exchanges in science, technology and culture as well.

The cooperation in the fields of Earth resource satellites, agricultural technology and aviation is progressing continuously. And the cooperation in culture and education is also very close.

China’s Confucius Institute Headquarters opened two Confucius Institutes and a Confucius school in Brazil and Brazil’s important media institutions have sent many journalists to work in China.

China and Brazil are both developing countries and have broad and consistent interests on major international issues. The Chinese government attaches great importance to relations with Brazil and believes the two countries’ cooperation in various fields will make great progress with their joint efforts.

Jim Rogers on Euro, Investment Strategy, MF Global – BLOOMBERG

Benito — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:16:18 +0000

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, talks about his investment strategy and the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd. Rogers, speaking with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance Midday,” also discusses the outlook for Brazil. (Source: Bloomberg)

Click here to watch the video direct from Bloomberg

APEC summit catapults Peru into China’s mainstream news

Benito — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:39:46 +0000

Peru, China cooperation has bilateral benefits

LIMA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) — Peru and China have enjoyed friendly relations which allow the development of business opportunities for both sides, Peruvian Prime Minister Salomon Lerner told Xinhua on Friday.

Xinhua News - CN President Hu Jintao with PE President Ollanta Humala

Lerner also confirmed that the Peruvian government doesn’t have intention to review or modify the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Peru and China, which came into force since 2010.

The 5th China-Latin America Business Summit will be held in Lima on Nov. 21 and 22. In this framework, Lerner said Peru offers “a series of possibilities of investment” and cooperation in many fields.

“I reassert the invitation to the Chinese companies to explore possibilities of association with Peruvian companies,” he added.

Click here to read the full article direct from Xinhua News

Leaders of China, Peru seek new cooperation

HONOLULU – Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on Friday, with both sides urging deeper economic cooperation.

Humala also called for more Chinese firms to invest in Peru.

The duo met on the sideline of the 19th Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

During the meeting, Hu said Sino-Peruvian ties are at a strategic high, and he pledged the two sides would sustain high-level communication on matters of mutual concern

Click here to read the full article direct from The China Daily

Chinese president calls for stronger ties with Peru

HONOLULU, United States, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Peruvian counterpart Ollanta Humala Tasso here Friday, and the two pledged to work together to further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The two are in Hawaii to attend the 19th Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Noting that both China and Peru are important developing countries in the Pacific Rim, Hu said China always treats and handles its relations with Peru from a strategic height. He put forward a four-point proposal to further boost bilateral ties.

Click here to read the full article direct from Xinhua News

Oceans Eleven style Bank heist in Brazil, minus George Clooney and Brad Pitt

Benito — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:16:55 +0000

Reuters reports on a “Epic Bank heist” in Brazil’s equivalent district of NYC’s Wall Street

One of the first things visitors notice in big Brazilian cities is the astounding number of private guards in suits keeping watch at hotels, restaurants, apartment buildings — virtually any place where there’s money.

The costs are massive. All told, Brazilians spend about as much every year on private security — roughly $8 billion — as the U.S. government spent on security contractors such as Blackwater during the first four years of the Iraq war combined, according to data from Brazil’s biggest private guards’ union and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.

Click here to read the full article direct from Reuters

Documental incredible de los paises – BRIC

Benito — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:02:05 +0000

Documental incredible de los paises – BRIC-episodio-1

Del canal Argentino – Infinito

China / India/ Russa (ASIA) – Latin America News Feast with a dash of US for dessert

Benito — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:25:29 +0000

My daily news radar (online subscriptions / searches) for all that is China – South America went off like wild fire today. Here’s some articles worthy giving a read.

Article 1: Russia Lends Venezuela $4 Billion in Return for Oil Projects - By Daniel Cancel of Bloomberg News

Russia agreed to lend Venezuela $4 billion through 2013 for defense spending in return for gaining access to heavy crude and offshore gas fields in the South American country.

Russia’s OAO Rosneft and OAO Gazprom signed a cooperation accord with Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA late yesterday at a ceremony in Caracas led by President Hugo Chavez and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.

“We’re working on large-dimension projects from oil, gas and petrochemicals to finance, banking and trade,” Chavez said on state television.

Click here to read the full article direct from the Bloomberg

Article 2 = China’s JAC Motors to build plant in Brazil - By Vivian Pereira and Brad Haynes of Reuters News

To Note:
* 80 pct of capital will come from local SHC Group
* Government driving up the cost of imported carsBy Vivian

Pereira and Brad HaynesSAO PAULO, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The Brazilian operator of China’s JAC Motors brand announced a 900-million-real ($510 million) investment to build a factory producing affordable cars in the world’s No. 4 auto market.

JAC Motors will provide 20 percent of the capital, with the rest coming from the local SHC Group run by businessman Sergio Habib, SHC said in a statement on Friday.

The plant in Bahia state, expected to produce 100,000 vehicles annually beginning in 2014, will be the second producing Chinese-branded cars in Latin America’s largest economy, where authorities are pushing up the cost of imported cars.

Click here to read the full article direct from the Reuters News

Article 3: Friction between China & Bolivia

Bolivian energy minister alleges deception by Jindal Steel in big iron ore mining deal, courtesy of the Associated Press via the Washington Post

LA PAZ, Bolivia — A senior Bolivian official is threatening to end the government’s contract with India’s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. over its alleged failure to meet investment commitments in a huge iron ore mine.

Energy Minister Jose Luis Gutierrez says Jindal deceived Bolivia in failing to honor its end of the biggest mining investment of President Evo Morales’ nearly six-year tenure.

Click here to read the full article direct from the Associated Press via the Washington Post

Article 4 = Ecuador firm wants to sell rice in the name of Gandhi - By Maneesh Chhibber of the IndianExpress.com

An Ecuador-based company has attempted to use the name and photograph of Mahatma Gandhi for marketing its rice. But an Indian lawyer has challenged the move before the Trademark Office of Ecuador. The case is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow.

According to Lalit Bhasin, who is also president of the Society of Indian Law Firms, the owner of the Ecuadorian company, Valverde Munoz, applied for grant of trademark for the name and label of “Arroz Gandhi” (Arroz means rice).

Click here to read the full article direct from IndianExpress.com

Article 5: Mitt Romney on Mexico, China and defense – By Dr. James M. Lindsay and courtesy of CNN News

Dr. James M. Lindsay you would think knows about the topic, as CNN makes a special point to note — Dr. James M. Lindsay is a Senior Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-author of America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, and whom writes his own blog, which you can access by clicking here.

By James M. Lindsay, CFR.org

Mitt Romney has taken exception to Rick Perry’s comment over the weekend that he would consider sending American troops into Mexico to help end the drug war raging there. Romney told the New Hampshire Union Leader that Perry’s suggestion is “a bad idea:”

Let’s build a fence first, and let’s have sufficient border patrol agents to protect it. And if the Mexican government wants us to help it with logistics, intelligence, satellite images, I’m sure we can provide the sort of support we provided in Colombia.

You can expect to hear more about Mexico at next Tuesday’s GOP debate. If Romney makes the Colombia comparison again, he probably should explain what the United States did there. Most people don’t know.

Click here to read the full article direct from CNN

Commentary: U.S. needs bigger thinking on Latin America

Benito — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 06:33:14 +0000

ANDRES OPPENHEIMER of the Miami Herald and CNN Español discusses US Foreign Policy towards Latin America

Note the author of this blog (me) does not always agree with what Mr. Oppenheimer says, but his article no less merits a quick read. Some major points which any reader giving this a quick skim should note –>

1/ The Obama Administration has left the post of Head Latin American affairs vacant for 5 months. So much for making good on promises back in 2008 to forge closer ties with the region… Big disappointment here, but not any worse or better than the disappointment / let down his predecessor Bush Jr also produced. It seems the last President to care at all about the region was Clinton who did more than organize summits… He laid the foundation for FTA’s with countries in the region via NAFTA

2/ Obama did not visit Brazil, the growing powerhouse and member of the BRIC club until 3 years into his presidency. When he did visit, he received nothing but criticism for going through with the official visit between the heads of state of the Western Hemisphere’s two largest economies… because the visit happened to coincide with start of Western Military efforts in Libya. For the US media which pointed the finger at Obama, shame on you, the President does not physically need to be in the United States to be “Commander and Chief,” especially for an internationally organized, and initially French lead military mission. For Obama, shame on you too! It took you three years to visit Brazil! I think for Brazilians this is an obvious insult, but even for the rest of South America (and Latin America as a whole), Obama, Bush Jr. and the United States… well… Latin America is feeling a bit as if they are being ignored. One thing is certain – China is not ignoring Latin America, nor is India, Russia or even small players like Singapore which is investing to expand the Panama Canal.

3/ As Ray Walser, Senior Policy Analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation very appropriately points in a 2009 publication “U.S Policy toward Latin America in 2009 and Beyond” From 1996 to 2006, total U.S. merchandise trade with Latin America grew by 139percent, compared to 96 percent for Asia and 95 percent for the European Union. In 2006, the U.S. exported $223 billion worth of goods to Latin American consumers(compared with $55 billion to China). Fifty-one percent of U.S. energy imports originate from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.

Excerpt from Oppenheimer’s article –>

U.S. diplomatic ties with Latin America, which have been in limbo for months, got a small boost last week when President Barack Obama nominated Roberta Jacobson as top State Department official in charge of Latin American affairs. But that alone will not do much to revert the gradual loss of U.S. clout in the region.

Granted, the career diplomat gets high marks from almost everybody in Washington’s small world of Latin American affairs specialists. Unlike her predecessor Arturo Valenzuela, a political appointee whose nomination in 2009 was blocked for several months by Conservative republicans, the Senate is expected to easily confirm her nomination.

Among the most urgent issues Jacobson would have to deal with would be the long-stalled U.S. ratification of the free trade deals with Colombia and Panama, the escalating violence in Mexico, and the April 2012, 34-country Summit of the Americas in Colombia.

On a wider spectrum, she would have to find new ways to improve ties with the region at a time when China has eclipsed much of the previous U.S. economic influence in South America’s commodity producing countries.

Click here to read Oppenheimer’s full article via the Kansas City Star

Global gloom places Latin America on alert – Financial Times

Benito — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 05:56:52 +0000

Interesting article written by John Paul Rathbone, Latin America editor of the Financial Times.

Every day Luis Castilla, Peru’s finance minister, says he lights a candle and “prays that China won’t crash”.

His prayers are echoed by many in a region that remains one of the world economy’s few bright spots. South America’s commodity-rich economies grew 5 per cent in the first half of this year. Last year, these new motors of the world economy added half a percentage point to global output.

But slowing Asian demand and plunging commodity prices have raised the spectre that South America, having largely escaped the 2008-09 Great Recession, may not be so lucky this time around.

Main point = Potential new financial crisis in the “Developed World” + slow down in China = Scared Latinos

Click here to read the full article direct from the Financial Times