Biden warns of China’s “debt trap” at Latin American summit

President Joe Biden pledged before the leaders of 11 countries on Friday to promote green bonds and facilitate the investment of billions of dollars in Latin America so that he can “choose” between the United States and the “Chinese debt trap.”

The US President received the leaders of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Canada and Barbados, and the foreign ministers of Mexico and Panama at the White House to attend the first summit of the Economic Prosperity Alliance. In the Americas (APEP), which everyone is a part of.

“The United States is already the largest source of investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, and we will ensure that our closest neighbors know that they can choose between debt trap diplomacy and a high-quality, transparent approach to infrastructure and development,” Biden said. He said.

The United States accuses China, an unavoidable trading partner in the region, of using debt to achieve strategic goals.

Read more: How long can Costa Rica remain friends with the US and China at the same time?

To counter Beijing’s growing influence, Biden announced that “the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are launching a new investment platform to allocate billions of dollars to build sustainable infrastructure” in America.

He did not give figures, but the money will primarily go to “strengthening vital supply chains, modern ports, clean energy networks (and) digital infrastructure” because they are “essential components” of a “competitive and resilient economy.” . .

Green bonds

Energy transformation and nature protection are also in the focus of Washington, which is committed to cooperating with the Islamic Development Bank to establish a green bond fund to invest in environmentally friendly assets, and blue bonds, specialized in preserving the oceans. and its environmental systems.

During the biennial summit, countries addressed one of the key issues at the regional level: supply chains, which have suffered serious disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a final joint declaration they acknowledged that the situation could be repeated, for example due to the impact of climate change.

That’s why they aim to create “the world’s most competitive, inclusive, sustainable and resilient regional value and supply chains” by focusing on three sectors: clean energy, medical supplies and semiconductors.

They also want to create a “regional accelerator for entrepreneurs and programs to encourage workforce development, especially in the digital economy.”

Before the summit, there was a working breakfast with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“None of us has a magic wand to increase productivity and generate good jobs and higher wages,” she told them, but APEP countries are “well placed” to benefit from the “crowd of friends.” This term I coined refers to production and supply in geopolitically allied countries.

Read more: Interview with a US representative about 5G communications, China, Huawei and Costa Rica

Yellen also hopes that countries in the region will benefit from the eventual increase in the IMF’s credit capacity if it achieves its goal of increasing member states’ quotas.

Immigration

Biden said that America “could become the most economically competitive region in the world.”

But he must overcome challenges such as climate change, income inequality and, above all, illegal immigration, which represents a headache for the Democratic leader, whom Republicans accuse of not doing enough to stop migration at the border with Mexico.

To that end, it calls for addressing the crisis by “stabilizing migrant populations” where they are, providing them with legal status and assistance, and promoting “safe and orderly” migration through programs that allow them to work.

The United States has carried out more than two million interceptions of migrants who crossed the border with Mexico without a visa since January, numbers that work against Biden for re-election in the 2024 presidential elections.

The summit ended “in the spirit of openness and inclusion” with a call for encouraging other American countries to join APEP.