Chinese resource quest in Brazil : the changing role of economic statecraft

• Main Author: Alves, Ana Cristina
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::International relations
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104952; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/25582
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Economic incentives play a central role in Chinese foreign policy. In particular, infrastructure loans seem to be a prominent tool in China’s quest to secure access to resources in developing regions. This is most evident in Africa. It is interesting to note that, even though the necessary conditions are present in Brazil, (depleted infrastructure and abundant resources) China’s financial inducements have struggled to facilitate Chinese companies deep access to sectors of Brazilian resources. This is even more striking considering that both parties have repeatedly expressed strong willingness to expand Chinese investments in Brazil’s mining, oil and infrastructure sectors over the last decade. This article reviews China’s attempts to implement its infrastructure-for-resources loans in Brazil in the period 2000-2011, and analyses the reasons behind its failure and the significant adjustments that surfaced in the midst of the financial crisis.