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In a world of growing international competition and rivalry between China and the United States, Latin America and the European Union (EU) are caught in the same thorny dilemma. Positioned between these global giants, both regions are facing a retorn to a Westphalian system of nation-states, which undermines their roles as emerging regional players. In view of these new global challenges in Latin America and the EU, this paper uses a qualitative and comparative approach to explore foreign policy discourses on autonomy in both regions. It examines their goals and priorities and assesses the potential regional and interregional consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, China has become a strategic economic partner for both Latin American and African nations. China's economic global relevance is translating via its "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)" into massive amounts of foreign trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), loans, and aid for both regions. Recently, China has added a national security and defense dimension to its BRI relationship with both regions. China's global strategic economic, geopolitical, and global defense goals are being expressed in its global "Road and Belt" power initiatives and strategies. This paper explores an additional dimension of China's BRI initiative: its role in both regions' defense industries and national security environments. China is increasingly using its trade and investment leverage with both regions to unbalance their defense choices and strategic defense relationships. China's increasing interactions with African and Latin American countries poses a number of geopolitical implications for both the United States and Western European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the Chinese quest for energy resources in Latin America, arguing that the strengthening of relations in this sector can only be explained by a conjunction of interests on both sides. Looking at the presence of Chinese national oil companies in the regional energy sector, we show that China’s incursion has allowed the region to shift its traditional energy partners, introducing a factor of change into economic and political relations with geopolitical implications for the regional arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing attention has been devoted in the last ten years to China's 'going-out' strategy around the world. The objective here is to analyse the modalities of China's presence in Latin America and to explore its strategic interests from Panama's privileged viewpoint. Panama is an interesting case, providing an example of a country capable to do business with both Taiwan and China. It therefore represents a regional success story in the fierce chequebook diplomacy between China and Taiwan, in which the shift of allegiance of Costa Rica in 2007 is only the latest episode. While securing energy and strategic materials still represents a priority for China, other aspects of the Chinese presence cannot be underestimated for a correct analysis. A key factor is the support Latin American countries, increasingly looking to China as a development model, can offer in multilateral fora, which suits China's objective of building multi-polarism. The special relation Panama entertains with the US makes it an important test of the bilateral relations between China and the US in the Western Hemisphere, which will ultimately determine many of the scenarios in Latin America in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent expansion of China's Belt and Road Initiative-related commercial dealmaking into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is unlikely to bring fundamental change to China-LAC economic relations. It may, however, catalyse a more volatile LAC-China-US geopolitical relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]