Beijing’s crackdown on private groups’ offshore deals results in sharp slowdown

Trade relations with an expanding and increasingly outward facing China have placed foreign leaders in a position whereby public engagement with China on investment and trade issues can create a perception of either pragmatic collaboration for mutual strategic and economic benefit at best or collusion and corruption at worst.

The value of Cuba’s tourist industry has always been measured against the eventual opening of relations with the United States as well as the potentially large market created by U.S. travelers and trade. Any direct investment in Cuba has always been tempered by this reality, foreign investors such as China will now have to calculate whether to partner with state–owned enterprises or find other means.

All the efforts Chicago has made to woo Chinese corporations, along with the resulting economic, cultural, and academic benefits both sides have enjoyed, might be curbed by growing inward-looking policies.

It is too early to say what the Trump administration’s trade policy will look like – but a total cut-off from Asian partners is unlikely. It would harm the US economy, and offer China even more scope to cement its position in Asia. Nevertheless, with TPP and TTIP both looking unlikely, the EU should move fast to build relationships with China and ASEAN countries.

Greatly due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy, economic growth in the commodity-driven economies of Latin America has fallen off about half from its high point. Although the situation is not yet dire, unless these countries find a new market, their commodity-driven economies are in for a prolonged period of slower growth.

Skeptics of land reforms throughout the world fear that land redistribution in developing states may further victimize those who are already more disadvantaged and marginalized. And recent unrests in Kazakhstan due to Chinese investors demonstrate such concerns, highlighting land reform to be a complicated process with the potential of igniting social movements and mass mobilizations.

Chinese contractors have recently built a railroad in Ethiopia that will connect it to the ocean. The railroad promises to streamline Ethiopia’s exportation process. It is hoped that this new development will boost economic growth in Ethiopia, which has recently stagnated due to a historically bad drought and increasing civil strife.

The decline in global oil prices means China pays less for its Venezuelan oil, but on the other hand, the situation has made it harder for Venezuela to pay its other debts. The country is having a terrible time acquiring badly-needed foreign imports, such as medicine and food. The fault lies less with China’s loans, credits and investments, but the failure to use such resources in establishing a functioning, and far more dynamic, economy.

A key federal committee has just blessed what would be the largest-ever Chinese overseas investment, the $43 billion takeover of the giant farm pesticide and seed corporation, Syngenta. In doing so, the U.S. government is showing acquiescence when issues of national security or key resources are off the table. However, it may also be taking a risk with American food safety.