Gallagher Publishes Op-Ed on China’s Development Finance
Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy and Director of the Global Development Policy Center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, co-wrote a recent Op-Ed examining the current status of Chinese development finance in Latin America.
Gallagher’s Op-Ed, entitled “Chinese Development Finance “Down But Not Out” in Latin America,” was published on March 30, 2018 in The Global Americans. Gallagher co-wrote the Op-Ed with
From the text of the Op-Ed:
Chinese state-to-state finance in Latin America dipped to a five-year low in 2017, with just $9 billion in loans from Chinese policy banks—the China Development Bank (CDB) and China Eximbank—to Latin American governments and state-owned enterprises. In general, the same year, Chinese overseas investment also slowed, largely due to new capital controls on overseas investments put in place by the Chinese government to maintain financial stability.
On top of these broader trends, Latin America and the Caribbean saw a significant drop due to a decision by the two banks to refrain from issuing new loans to an increasingly volatile Venezuela. Though a top recipient of CDB and China Eximbank loans in the past, Venezuela received no finance from Chinese banks in 2017, after receiving a comparatively small loan of only $2.2 billion in 2016 aimed at improving the country’s oil production capacity.
Although China continues to engage Venezuela diplomatically, and to promote cooperation with Caracas, Chinese officials are increasingly wary of conditions on the ground in the oil-rich nation. In a September 2017 meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that China has always been committed to “enhancing the friendly and mutual trust between the two countries and firmly advancing mutually beneficial cooperation,” but added that China is increasingly concerned about the safety of Chinese people and property in Venezuela.
Gallagher served on the U.S. Department of State’s Investment Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and the International Investment Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at the Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico; Tsinghua University in China; and the Center for State and Society in Argentina. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinPGallagher.