China and South America in times of crisis: a review of the Chinese, Brazilian and Argentinian leadership foreign policy pronunciations

GUSTAVO SANTILLÁN

Fuzhou

Congreso; Eight High Level Forum on China-LAC Academic Exchanges; 2019

Academia China de Ciencias Sociales - Social Sciences in China Press - Universidad Normal de Fujian

The paper analyses the foreign policy statements made by the Argentinian, Brazilian and Chinese leadership from 2013 to the present date. The study period was selected on the basis of a) the coherent development and foreign relations strategy devised by Xi Jinping from its assumption as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, b) the recent political shifts occurred in the South American region, and c) the recent political shift occurred in the United States.Given these processes in mind, and after a review of the above-stated political pronunciations, the work concludes that a) There is a consistent Chinese policy orientation promoting free trade, openness and joint development of international relations, though altered by both the US foreign policy and the South American countries realignments. b) The political shifts of the major South American countries, reinforced by the US political intervention in South America, did not suffice for the production of major alterations of their diplomatic positions towards China. c) The political processes of the South American countries, as well as the US political process, develop in a shorter timespan as compared with the Chinese political process. d) This aspect might indicate the possibility of sustaining the Sino-South American relationship within the established pattern, as long as the global economy did not suffer major alterations in the short run.