Foreign Affairs

Beijing Building Massive Bridge In America’s Backyard

China News Service / Wikimedia Commons

A Chinese construction conglomerate has laid the groundwork for building Latin America’s longest cable-stayed bridge in Brazil by 2031.

The Salvador-Itaparica Bridge will be built via public-private partnership including Chinese Communications Construction and the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), per South China Morning Post. The bridge would grant China access to one of Brazil’s most lucrative international trade flashpoints.

It marks the latest development in the Belt and Road Initiative, (BRI), a Chinese strategy that the State Department has described as an attempt from China to “create economic dependencies and to coerce others.” The BRI involves China investing in the infrastructure of developing countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

“Brazil is a welcoming environment now for the Chinese, politically and economically…a lot of investment is already there, there’s a huge internal market and many other infrastructure projects have already been done,” Latin American Studies Professor Evan Ellis of the United States Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute told the South China Morning Post. Brazil is a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economic coalition. Comprising of 11 member countries and partner nations, BRICS is a coalition aimed at allowing developing economies to trade without using the American dollar or aligning with western interests.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it’s “not familiar with the specifics.”

The Salvador-Itaparica Bridge would be part of a wider 29-mile project, the South China Morning Post reports. Containing the Port of Salvador and several private terminals, All Saints Bay serves as a vital hub for foreign trade in Brazil. It is considered a key trading region for products including petrochemicals, fuel oil, nickel, iron and vanadium.

Latin America is a long-term interest for China. It has invested in both a Peruvian port and a 3,000 mile-long rail line in Brazil that could enable trade routes that circumvent the Panama Canal , the DCNF reported last September.

However, the upcoming October 25th presidential run-off election may complicate Brazil’s relationship with Beijing is Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro wins, the South China Morning Post reported. Bolsonaro aims to veer away from China dependency and partner with the U.S., including giving America access to the country’s rare earth minerals.

The Trump administration has renewed American interest in Latin America. On Jan. 3rd, American Special Forces conducted a high-stakes raid ousting Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro. Meanwhile, America has begun to intercept oil shipments headed for Cuba, aiming to suffocate the regime in Havana.