Webinar on China and Latin America: The Covid 19 Pandemic and the Biden Administration
On November 4, 2020, Dr. Santa Gadea, director of the Center for China and Asia-Pacific Studies at the UP, participated in one of the webinars within the cycle organized by the Latin America–Asia-Pacific Observatory, a joint initiative of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), CAF—development bank of Latin America, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This webinar, the fourth in the series, focused on China and Latin America in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Biden administration.
Dr. Santa Gadea’s presentation, “China–Peru in the international context: challenges and opportunities,” presented some perspectives on the economic relationship between China and Peru, before moving on the international context. She highlighted the importance of Chinese investment in Peru, stressing that unlike the country’s export relationships with Latin America, the United States, and the European Union, in which non-traditional exports are key, Peru’s relationship with China and Asia-16 is highly traditional, focused on the export of raw materials and unprocessed goods. Thus, moving beyond the export of raw materials to Asia remains a challenge.
Likewise, she stressed that China and the United States are the engines of world growth, with the former country the main export destination for 40 economies, and the latter, 33. Both countries were key partners of Peru in the fight against the pandemic through donations, work meetings, expert visits, and other contributions. Thus, the Peruvian foreign policy proved pragmatic, seeking maximum impact in the fight against the pandemic.