"Oil-exporting nations are facing budget crises, political instability and social upheaval thanks to the cratering of crude oil prices in recent weeks. Enter China. Despite an economic slowdown of its own-which has been a factor in plunging oil prices-Beijing is stumping up billions of dollars in loans to many of these countries, in exchange for what some analysts warn are tough terms that could cripple future economic recoveries. China's lending could reshuffle the global balance of power, and ultimately threatens to make the World Bank and the IMF obsolete-but could also leave China with billions in defaulted loans if these countries can't pay. China has been making a particular effort to build its influence in Latin America, long a US sphere of influence...Chinese president Xi Jinping pledged this week China would make $250 billion in investments in the region over the next 10 years," writes Quartz. 

An opinion article in The National Interest writes, "One of the explicit goals of the Obama administration's policy of 'rebalancing' to the Asia Pacific region is elevating economic statecraft as a pillar of foreign policy. Completion and ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a precedent-setting U.S.-China bilateral investment treaty would contribute substantially to that objective, but they are not enough to reverse a worrisome erosion of U.S. economic leadership in Asia and the world." The article highlights the three main elements of "the political-economic imperative facing U.S. ... (1) strengthening the bilateral economic component of the rebalance with key countries, thereby boosting the credibility of the U.S. commitment to Asia; (2) supporting high-standard regional economic integration in Asia and across the Pacific while successfully managing U.S.-China rivalry; and (3) restoring and strengthening the global institutions responsible for international trade and financial governance, which have a direct bearing on Asia."  

NBC News reports, "U.S. entrepreneurs are already buzzing about the money-making possibilities of closer links with Cuba. But the upside may go beyond that. Thawing diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba will allow the U.S. to offset growing Chinese influence on the Caribbean nation, experts say, and may be the first step to kindle further economic and political reforms in Cuba. The more than 50-year American hiatus from Cuba has 'given the Chinese more playing room,'... President Barack Obama's outreach to Cuba comes at a time when the island's economy is increasingly China-dominated. The communist Asian nation has become Cuba's largest creditor and its biggest export partner."