• Foreign Policy

Fang Xiao, an assistant research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Latin American Studies, examines why Latin American countries respond differently to U.S.-China competition. He argues that their choices are shaped primarily by the intensity of U.S. pressure, the magnitude of benefits provided by China, and the preferences of governing political parties. Fang distinguishes between countries that align more closely with the United States and those that pursue different forms of “balanced diplomacy,” using Panama, Brazil, and Argentina as case studies. Fang concludes that China should respond by expanding pragmatic cooperation that gives Latin American governments a greater “sense of gain” while making the benefits of cooperation with China increasingly difficult to replace.