Communicating Influence: China's Messaging in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Amidst an unprecedented increase in commercial and investment ties to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the Chinese government has sought to deploy “soft power” to enhance its influence in the region. Development assistance initiatives, and more recently pandemic-related engagement, are part of these efforts, which in some countries are driven in part by the quest to secure diplomatic recognition at the expense of Taiwan but that also reflect an assertive drive to shape perceptions of China’s role in the international system. This study addresses the content of communication and messaging in the region and elaborates on the channels through which Beijing’s narratives are conveyed to LAC audiences. In addition to detailed consideration of the Digital Silk Road – the technological dimension of the Belt and Road Initiative – the paper considers pandemic assistance and the role of Chinese public diplomacy, most notably through Confucius Institutes located in universities across the region. While the study takes a regional gaze it devotes particular attention to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador, and is supplemented by hyperlinked case studies of China’s interactions with all four of those countries.

Keywords: China, Latin America, Caribbean, soft power, diplomacy, development