Following the signing of the cooperation plan for the Belt and Road, the U.S. took measures against Colombia
Photo: Fotografía oficial de la Presidencia de Colombia.
According to a report by the media outlet Noticias Caracol, after Colombia signed the Cooperation Plan for the Belt and Road Initiative within the framework of the “China-CELAC Forum,” the United States Department of State expressed its disagreement, arguing that the strong Chinese presence poses a threat to the security of the region.
In addition, the U.S. institution stated that the money collected through contributions from U.S. taxpayers should not be used by international organizations that allocate large sums to subsidize Chinese companies operating in the Western Hemisphere.
Likewise, the cited media outlet spoke with a spokesperson for the U.S. institution, who said that the signing of the cooperation plan is counterproductive to Colombia’s interests and argued that it enables harmful actions by China’s ruling party toward the South American country, such as debt traps that undermine its sovereignty.
This may have led the U.S. Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs to declare shortly afterward that it “will firmly oppose recent projects and upcoming disbursements”, referring to support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other Intermediary Financial Institutions (IFIs) directed at Chinese state-owned enterprises operating in Colombia.
In this regard, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, stated that he considers the U.S. decision not to finance projects by the People’s Republic of China in Colombia to be appropriate, since the U.S. government should seek for its national companies to have opportunities to bid on the projects that the Colombian government plans to launch.
Nevertheless, several projects currently underway in Colombia by Chinese companies that are funded by the IDB could be at risk. Among them is the construction of the first line of the metro in the capital city, Bogotá, led by the firm Metro Línea 1 S.A.S., which is composed of Chinese companies Xi’an Company Limited and China Harbour Engineering Company.
Specifically, the Bogotá District signed a public credit agreement with the IDB for 600 million dollars to finance the first metro line, and another for 415 million dollars intended for the construction of the second line. The construction of the first line is also supported by funding from the European Investment Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
It is known that, in addition to Colombia, which so far has only signed the Cooperation Plan for the Belt and Road, this defunding measure would also apply to other countries already part of the Chinese initiative. This initiative was launched in 2013 by the Chinese government, and at least 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries signed the memorandum of understanding, while Colombia, to date, has only signed the cooperation plan.
Main Source:
Primeras represalias de Estados Unidos contra Colombia por unirse a Ruta de la Seda de China – Noticias Caracol
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