Economic and technological ties between China and Argentina: a review of their “strategic cooperation”

Photo: SAC-D Aquarius. By: MRECIC ARG. Source: Creative commons.

A U.S. non-governmental organization has published a report on the cooperation between Argentina and China in aerospace development. The report, entitled “The Chinese Communist Party in Argentina: The International Engagement of China’s Space Industry,” explains the hierarchical responsibility that the Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army have in defining China’s internal economic rules and global strategic plans in projects such as those in Neuquén and San Juan. Furthermore, analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) affirm that these activities do not respond to the exclusive desire to lead the battle in the scientific and technological field, but are geared towards the sophisticated field of modern defense and military intelligence.

The report also mentions bilateral projects in the nuclear, hydroelectric, and port areas that are part of the cooperative package, but points out that Argentina does not usually conduct in-depth research into the scope of financial, commercial, and technological links that would prove to be beneficial to pursue. The report highlights the political and operational interference of the Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army in China’s research, construction, production, trade, and technological development chain, which generates a state of artificial and illegal competitiveness. The report describes a scenario contrary to the trade and technology cooperation that used to guide U.S.-China ties until the 2008/11 crisis, and states that, the current situation is marked by the Chinese government’s frustration with the alleged failure of major WTO members to accept, without additional conditions, its legal status as a market economy.

Top Headline:

Riaboi, J. (2023). Clarín. China y Argentina: Los andariveles de la ‘cooperación estratégica’.