Chinese influence in the Caribbean and Latin America has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Considering the uncertainties regarding recent activities or the lack of involvement from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the region, China might extend its influence even further, for it has undoubtedly infiltrated the Caribbean Community.
Ten Caribbean nations, including Cuba, Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, and the Dominican Republic, have joined the Beijing’s Belt Road Initiative since 2022.
The strong presence of the Chinese is obvious. Their entry heightened investment and commerce in both the CARICOM nations and Central America. China cannot be undermined or even restrained because it is expanding without any alternatives. It has economic might.
A report from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee revealed that $6.1 billion in Chinese exports and $1.9 billion in imports were registered in 2019, and commerce between China and the Caribbean increased from $1 billion in 2002 to $8 billion.
The Foreign Affairs Committee has observed the recent Chinese expansion with their initiatives, such as a $600 million investment to upgrade the Dominican Republic’s electrical infrastructure and the construction of a $3 billion deepwater port on Grand Bahamas, 55 miles from the United States mainland. In addition, Forbes Magazine reported that China is spending $773 million in Suriname and $2.1 billion in Jamaica on infrastructure, respectively.
Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute who focuses on Latin America and China’s relationship, said China is closely monitoring the broader strategic picture, but individual Chinese companies also have commercial goals.
Ellis stated, “Although I don’t believe that Chinese companies pursue presence in the region principally because of the military value, the military opportunities that such commercial presence, and political and military relationships potentially provide in time of war, are obvious to the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese government.”
The research professor further noted, “On a per capita basis, there is no other part of the Western Hemisphere that receives the quantity of trips for its police and defense force officials, two Chinese military institutions, gifts of police and military vehicles and materials, visits by Chinese hospital ships, and other (People’s Liberation Army) military diplomacy as does the Caribbean.”
Executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, Alan Mendoza, who heads a security think group in London, England, said in his report that Beijing is actively attempting to undermine the United States in the Caribbean.
Other reports came from John Lee, a senior scholar at the Hudson Institute who works on international economic and security affairs in Washington DC; he stated that the Chinese actions pose a “threefold” danger to American dominance in Latin America and the Caribbean. “First, increased economic, financial, and technological dependency on China offers the Chinese an opportunity to exert influence in this geopolitical decision and even domestic politics of smaller states.”
Lee also stated that China seeks to redefine and change the rules and standards nations use to conduct commerce and trade in its favor.
China has a far more significant influence on the Panama Canal since Hong Kong-based businesses now operate ports close to its entry.
Although some analysts caution against overestimating this threat, this has raised concerns about China’s potential to impede canal trade during a conflict. U.S. law enforcement has also seen an increase in interactions with suspected Chinese illegal migrants at the Canadian and Mexican borders.
In general, the United States finds it difficult to restrain Chinese influence in the area without offering alternatives, and the U.S.’s inability to address the requirements of Caribbean and Central American nations is one factor contributing to China’s increasing influence.
