China Daily ran an op-ed yesterday on China’s growing influence in Ibero-America, based on economic cooperation and especially critical help dealing with the COVID pandemic. The article is written by Alfred Romann, who is described as “managing director of Bahati, an editorial services agency based in Hong Kong,” and it declares that “many countries across Latin America have turned to China in their efforts to deal with the pandemic…. Chinese vaccine makers have stepped up in Latin America, carrying out trials in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Mexico, finding partners to set up local manufacturing facilities and exporting millions of doses to countries that, by and large, lack the capacity to make vaccines at home.”
Bahati then points to Argentine President Alberto Fernández’s upcoming visit to China: “Argentine President Alberto Fernández, for one, sent a letter of thanks to President Xi Jinping in January and plans to visit China later this year. Countries such as Mexico and Colombia have said that Chinese vaccines helped shore up their vaccination programs. These efforts to support healthcare systems and vaccination programs could lead to stronger ties in other areas, particularly if the efforts help shore up public opinion.”
