New "twists and turns" of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to find out peculiarities and new developments in the implementation of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America. To achieve it, the author performs a number of supporting tasks: pointing out the reasons for the interest of Latin American countries in participating in the Initiative and considering the status of its main projects in the region, she analyzes difficulties in the way of the BRI, characterizing Beijing's new approaches to the mechanisms of overcoming them. The author's conclusion is that, despite all the challenges, the idea and practice of the BRI will not lose its resonance on Latin American soil, at least in the medium term. This is due to such factors as the multiplication of areas of interaction in high-tech industries known as "new infrastructure"; further aggravation of the PRC's strategic needs in resources that the continent is rich in, real expansion of the BRI area to Latin American territory, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to China's growing international importance as a supplier of vaccines and medical expertise, intensification of joint ventures’ practice (JVs) and a number of others.