Chinese finance new drive to mired LatAm economies

MEXICO CITY -- As traditional international capital investments turned their backs on Latin America, Chinese finance has become a new drive to the mired economies in the continent, with loans surpassing the combined total of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Chinese lending to Latin America increased over 70 percent to $22 billion in 2014, and many of these loans were announced during Chinese President Xi Jinping's July 2014 trip to the region, according to the latest report by a Washington-based think tank.

Chinese banks continue to finance a different set of countries than the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and North American and European banks.

Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela, which are not able to borrow as easily in global capital markets, were the focus of Chinese lending in Latin America again in 2014, the report said.

"What is more, Chinese finance comes with few strings attached, " Kevin Gallagher, author of the report, said in his blog article.

China has avoided meddling in the domestic policy of those countries, which is an attractive feature for many Latin America governments, he said.

The China-CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) forum ministerial meeting was held in Beijing on Jan 8-9, defining key areas and specific measures for the overall cooperation from 2015 to 2019 between the two sides.

According to the plans, China will invest at least $250 billion and both sides will strive to achieve a trade volume of $500 billion within a decade.

Since 2005, China has provided more than 119 billion dollars in loan commitments to Latin American countries and firms, the report said.

Under the downward pressure of the world economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Latin America's economic growth may only reach 2.2 percent in 2015.

This region looks to expand trade with China to diversify exports and increase mutual investment.

In February, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez visited China and signed a series of trade and investment deals, including 6.8-billion-dollar loans from China for the railway and hydropower projects.

China has become an important engine for the world economy, said the Argentine president.

As the second largest economy in the world, China has become one of the most important economic partners to Latin American economies, the largest trading partner to Brazil, the second largest to Argentina.

Trade volume between China and Latin America reached 261.6 billion dollars in 2013, 20 times the amount in 2000.