Abstract

When Global East Meets Global South: East Asia & Latin America

University of Kansas Conference

March 29, 2024

Keynote Abstract

R. Evan Ellis, PhD

Research Professor, Latin American Studies

Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College

Latin America Engages Asia: A Relationship in Transformation

Dr. Ellis will examine the latest trends in, and outlook for Latin America’s relationship with the PRC and other Asian partners. He will examine trends in economic engagement arising from PRC global technology goals and other strategic imperatives, including fewer state-to-state infrastructure loans, traditional Mergers and Acquisitions and large-scale Greenfield projects, with a shift to targeted investments, in the digital, green energy, and other key sectors. He will address the impact of decoupling and “nearshoring,” as well as Chinese initiatives in the financial sector, space, military and public security affairs, and the use of the “expectation of benefit” and people-to-people diplomacy to achieve influence through relationships with key academic, political, media and business figures in the region. He will examine China’s reliance on a combination of state-to-state, subnational and multilateral engagement to support its objectives.  Beyond China, Dr. Ellis will address the impact of China’s advance on the commercial and other strategic position of US-friendly democratic governments in the region, with a focus on Japan and South Korea, and the implications for US policy.