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Hong Kong is ever-changing: skyscrapers and tower blocks mushroom on the city’s skyline, land is reclaimed along the harbourfront, new neighbourhoods redefine cool as transport networks spread their tentacles. And throughout the course of its history, social change in the city has been marked by a series of milestones that have shaped the way we live today.
Opinion | China’s ties with the Americas are a net positive for the whole region
Instead of stubbornly hanging onto the Monroe Doctrine, Washington should embrace Beijing’s relationships with the US’ southern neighbours
The framework for China’s diplomacy can be summarised in four axioms: Major powers are the key; neighbouring countries are the priority; the developing world is the foundation; and multilateral diplomacy is the stage. To China, the developing world includes underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 1823, then US president James Monroe gave a speech before Congress. Part of this speech became the three key components of the Monroe Doctrine: first, the Americas were no longer open to new European colonies; second, European powers should not interfere in the political affairs of independent nations in the Western Hemisphere; and finally, the US would not involve itself in European affairs.
However, as many point out, the Monroe Doctrine soon became a tool for US imperialism and treating Latin America and the Caribbean as a backyard.
In 1904, then US president Theodore Roosevelt asserted that Washington had the right to intervene in Latin American nations to protect US and global financial interests. It led to numerous US military interventions in countries like the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua, often to protect American business interests. This kind of justification for US aggression was termed the Roosevelt Corollary, an apparent extension of the Monroe Doctrine.
“The relationship that we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other American states,” Kerry declared, after receiving prolonged applause from Latin American participants. “It’s about all of our countries viewing one another as equals, sharing responsibilities, cooperating on security issues and adhering not to doctrine but to the decisions that we make as partners”.
However, when Trump took office in 2017, it was clear the Monroe Doctrine would still be used as a weapon to maintain US hegemony in the Americas. In 2018, on the eve of his visit to Latin America, then US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the 19th-century declaration of US primacy in the Western Hemisphere remains “as relevant today as it was the day it was written”. Tillerson suggested that the US would not abandon it as China’s ties with Latin America increased.
These projects have significantly contributed to the region’s economic and social development. Trade ties between China and the Americas have also brought tangible benefits for both sides. Countries in the Americas help meet Chinese demand for food, energy and natural resources while reaping a great deal of export earnings.
As Karin L. Johnston pointed out in a report published by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in January, economic relations between China and the Americas have substantially benefited both sides, allowing countries to reduce critical infrastructure gaps, expand exports and secure loans they would not otherwise have obtained from the dominant lending organisations.
Even the Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent US think tank, acknowledges that “China is South America’s top trading partner and a major source of both foreign direct investment and energy and infrastructure lending, including through its massive Belt and Road Initiative”.
Second, China and various regional governments wish to boost relations. Sovereign nations have the right to promote ties with other countries. Latin America and the Caribbean can maintain trade relations with the US, as well as China. In fact, Beijing wishes to promote cooperation that benefits all sides. According to a 2016 policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, China encourages its companies to carry out trilateral cooperation in economic, social and cultural fields in the region with other countries.
Lastly, China’s cooperation with the Americas for a more prosperous region benefits the US. More economic prosperity could help reduce levels of instability and poverty that cause mass migration and exacerbate the illicit drug trade. Therefore, the US should be grateful for the trade and investment relations between China and Latin America.
It has been said that if Monroe could see the growth of Latin America’s relations with China, he would roll over in his grave. Yet, he doesn’t need to.
