beijing<u+2014>china is unfurling new plans to invest in america<u+2019>s backyard at a time the u.s. is mapping out its retreat on trade, showing how beijing is already positioning to test new markets where it may have more room to maneuver. as president xi jinping wrapped up a trip in south america this week, the chinese government released a strategic blueprint setting out ambitions to expand the country<u+2019>s global influence and launch a <u+201c>new era<u+201d> in china-latin american relations. the 11-page policy document, issued thursday by state media, was short on detail but clear in message: china is sharpening the focus on latin america and has methodical plans to do so. over the past week, mr. xi jinping had spoken to peru<u+2019>s parliament, was flanked by a chilean honor guard in santiago and used an asia-pacific summit in lima to push chinese-backed trade pacts. the policy document that followed, the first such in eight years, comes as u.s. president-elect donald trump vows to renegotiate or pull out of the north american free trade agreement, leave the trans pacific partnership trade grouping, build a wall with mexico and pare foreign aid. though vague, the document repeatedly stressed stronger links between chinese and latin american industries, from raw materials and agriculture to high technology and finance. <u+201c>china is committed to building a new relationship with latin america,<u+201d> it said. china is well prepared to step into the vacuum created by any u.s. withdrawal. it has pushed its special brand of global expansion for a decade based around <u+201c>win-win<u+201d> projects in emerging markets, such as african countries eager for infrastructure that chinese companies can help build. there is little internal debate in the communist party around the merits of global expansion, allowing beijing to speak with a single voice at a time when the u.s. is increasingly riven with growing suspicion of trade across the political spectrum. <u+201c>if you look at the world map, this is a place where we need to improve relations,<u+201d> said beijing university professor guo jie. <u+201c>historically, there<u+2019>s been a lack of basic understanding of each other.<u+201d> she attributed that partly to both regions<u+2019> close relations with, and focus on, the u.s. outgoing obama administration officials have expressed concern that china will take advantage of u.s. disengagement at the expense of american strategic interests abroad. u.s. commerce secretary penny pritzker this week criticized mr. trump<u+2019>s promise to withdraw the u.s. from the tpp trade deal the obama administration struck with nearly a dozen other nations, saying the move gives china an advantage in <u+201c>aggressively pushing its own trade agenda.<u+201d> <u+201c>ceding ground to china doesn<u+2019>t make sense,<u+201d> she said in an interview in washington on tuesday. china<u+2019>s new turn to latin america isn<u+2019>t without risk. it is a content where beijing has a checkered record and where its practices have raised some of the same concerns that trailed chinese expansion in other areas, including its impact on local communities. the policy document, as well as president xi<u+2019>s speeches during this week<u+2019>s visit, appeared to offer a new style of chinese outreach, vowing to create jobs, assist countries in building value-added industries, respect local practices and provide economic assistance <u+201c>without attaching any political conditions.<u+201d> china<u+2019>s initial overseas turn focused on the u.s. and europe for markets, and on africa for resources. its thirst for commodities led it increasingly to south america and the caribbean. it is now china<u+2019>s second-largest investment destination after asia, with annual investment doubling between 2005 and 2015 to $12.6 billion. with the expansion came the same criticism beijing has faced in africa: that its companies extracted natural resources, hired relatively few locals and did little to encourage existing industries in the region. argentine soybean exports soared on chinese demand after 2000, but as argentina focused on selling more soybean oil, beijing in 2010 imposed restrictions on the more profitable derivative. argentine officials claimed at the time that china was retaliating for trade restrictions they imposed on chinese manufacturing imports that had left local competitors reeling. rising chinese demand for commodities also saw brazil<u+2019>s fortunes soar early this century but left the region<u+2019>s largest economy with little but debt after chinese demand waned in 2013. more recently, china<u+2019>s raw-material investment spree has had some setbacks, notably in venezuela where misappropriation and an imploding economy have jeopardized billions of dollars<u+2019> worth of chinese loans, testing beijing<u+2019>s patience in its once close ally. mr. xi has portrayed china as a benevolent ally to the region<u+2019>s emerging markets. <u+201c>the big, strong and rich must not bully the small, weak and poor,<u+201d> he told the peruvian congress this week. he didn<u+2019>t mention the u.s. or mr. trump<u+2019>s trade outlook by name, but called for inclusion, support for the multilateral trading system and an end to protectionism. <u+201c>china has always been wary of how the u.s. perceives its engagement in latin america,<u+201d> said margaret myers, program director with the inter-american dialogue in washington. <u+201c>and if we see less u.s. engagement, or not particularly productive engagement, this leaves more room for china to open doors.<u+201d> <u+2014>--ian talley in washington contributed to this article. write to mark magnier at mark.magnier@wsj.com
china charts deeper focus on latin america - wsj
mark magnier