Cynthia Sanborn participates in an event at the Americas Institute, Georgetown University
The Georgetown Americas Institute is a platform for dialogue, research, and impact on the greatest challenges facing Latin America and the hemisphere.
On December 1, Dr. Cynthia Sanborn, director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies, participated in the “Great Power Competition in the Americas” event, sponsored by the Georgetown Americas Institute and the US–China Dialogue on Global Issues, in Washington D.C.
Dr. Sanborn was one of three speakers who addressed the topic of competition between the US and China and its implications for Latin America. She shared a panel with Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor at the School of International Relations of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in São Paulo and Parsifal D’Sola, executive director of the Andrés Bello Foundation. The moderator was Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America Program of the Inter-American Dialogue.
As is well known, over the last two decades China’s economic presence in our region has increased and diversified enormously. This has sparked concern among US political leaders, who have interpreted relations between China and Latin America as a challenge to their historical hegemony and therefore a matter that warrants a political response.
The purpose of this event was to discuss the implications of this new reality for governments and societies throughout the hemisphere. In her presentation, Dr. Sanborn stressed that Latin Americans do not want to be involved in another “Cold War” or to have to take sides with one power or another, but rather seek constructive and complementary relations with both the US and China. Although Latin American countries have different ways of relating to China—notably, the region is not so united in this sense—Dr.Sanborn commented that most opt for pragmatic and non-ideological relations. In the case of Peru, she remarked that relations with both powers are mature and constructive.
After taking part in the open panel alongside Stuenkel and D’Sola, our director participated in a closed workshop alongside other experts. Her presentation focused on the political economy and the challenges of natural resource governance amid the new mining boom, propelled by demand from China and other powers for minerals critical to the energy transition.
This international event represented an opportunity to strengthen ties between UP and Georgetown, one of the most important Jesuit universities in the world, as well as to disseminate the work of our Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies, one of Latin America’s few independent research centers specializing on these issues.
To learn more about the focal points of this event, which brought together experts from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and other countries, see the following video:
