Chinese foreign policy and its economic situation were analyzed in a round table sponsored by CAF

The round table "China's foreign policy in the government of Xi Xinping" was held at Aladi's headquarters with the support of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the London School of Economics Global South Unit. The event was organized by the Latin America-Asia Pacific  Observatory and its objective was to analyze the current situation of the Asian giant's politics and economy to understand the decisions that determine its links with the rest of the world. 

In the opening of the conference, Pablo Rabczuk, Undersecretary for Cooperation, Technical Assistance and Support for countries with a lower relative economic development (PMDER, for its acronym in Spanish) at Aladi, highlighted the development bank's support for this initiative. He stated, "Through its Director for Uruguay, Gladis Genua, I would like to express my gratitude to CAF, a strategic ally in all the activities carried out by Aladi in addition to being an essential pillar in the creation and operation of the Observatory".  

The main speaker was Christopher R. Hughes, professor and Director of the International Relations Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His presentation was focused on the relationship between internal and foreign policies in China, and how both are determined by the economic model strongly based on exports. 

Hughes described how China became a giant in the world economy, appealing to exports and a strong public investment. However, he emphasized that after the world crisis in 2008, China is no longer the same power and "we cannot think of it in the same way". 

The specialist noted, "The financial crisis of 2008 hit hard in China, which paid a high price resulting from the fall of exports by 20 percent. When Xi Xinping came to power in 2013, he tried to revert this reality and apply a new model, aiming at efficiency and effectiveness, but everything indicates that he has not been successful". 

Among the problems that characterize the Chinese economy, he named the high dependency on exports, the fall of productivity, the exaggerated amount allocated by the government to unnecessary infrastructure, and investments made on inefficient public companies. Hughes points out that all of this remains unchanged due to the strong entrepreneurial pressures which have been growing in the country since 2001, when China made the decision to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO). 

At the same time, Hughes noted the multi-million Chinese investments around the world, and stated that there are doubts regarding their transparency. He added, "They are different to those from other countries and difficult to judge". 

The expert said, "When we look at China in the long term we try to see the problems more than the advantages", and reminded that the country's investments have brought benefits to Latin America, but noted that "this is changing quickly" and it is necessary to gather information about the Chinese reality to make better decisions. 

The event included the participation of Dr. Álvaro Méndez, Principal Researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, co-founder of LSE Global South Unit, Ignacio Bartesaghi, Director of the Latin America-Asia Pacific Observatory, and Gladis Genua, CAF's Director Representative in Uruguay. Also included were the ambassadors of the permanent representations of Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela and representatives from Chile, Cuba, Peru, and Brazil before Aladi.