This week, business and political leaders of the Pacific Alliance held their annual Summit in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Alliance—composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru—aims to foster economic integration among member countries and other regions, with a special emphasis on Asia. The presidents and ministers of member countries attended the Summit in Puerto Vallarta; and, reflecting efforts at “convergence” between the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur, so did the presidents of Brazil and Uruguay. Notably absent was Mexico’s President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who declined to attend until electoral results were ratified.
Last year, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore joined the Alliance as associate members; this year South Korea and Ecuador also requested associate status.
Despite the interest of Pacific Alliance countries in deeper integration with Asia, thus far China, the world’s second largest economy, has remained polite but largely aloof. China expert Benjamin Creutzfeldt analyzes how China approaches its trade, investment, and lending decisions in Latin America and the degree to which the Alliance fits—or does not fit—in that larger strategy.
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About the Author
Benjamin Creutzfeldt
Visiting Professor, Sabana University (Bogota, Colombia) & Non-resident Fellow, SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
