FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sara Robertson (Sara.Robertson2@mail.house.gov)

Rep. Crawford Alerts USTR of Chinese Influence in Latin America

10/13/2021

Washington — Today, Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) along with 12 of his colleagues sent a letter to Ambassador Tai asking for immediate attention to the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in both Latin America and Caribbean trade and economic development. 

China has now surpassed the United States and is the largest non-continental trading partner for 54% of South America. This is a  substantial increase from 20 years ago when China had few trade agreements in the region and little economic footprint.

This recent increase of engagement in the Western Hemisphere is great cause for concern given the CCP’s publicized strategy of becoming a world superpower and dominating the economic stage. This heightened economic activity arrives parallel to China’s Belt & Road Initiative, which is the CCP’s long-term commitment to investing in large-scale infrastructure projects all over the world, as well as CCP-sponsored companies working to dominate the 5G and public security space. The rising threat of CCP espionage and intellectual property theft has always been cause for concern, and the Biden Administration can no longer take for granted its sphere of influence – even within our borders.

“We believe that it is of the highest priority for the U.S. to keep its relationships strong with our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. Before long, China will be significantly positioned to completely dominate Western Hemisphere economics, as China is already the top trading partner for practically all of Asia, Oceania, Eastern Europe, Africa, and, as stated, most of South America,” the members wrote.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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