Brazil's Northeast Becomes Stage for Cold War between US and China

[Judi Lynn]

With Brazil under pressure to block Chinese investment, Asian country tightens technology ties with region

Aug.30.2019 1:43PM

Patrícia Campos Mello
Chinese technology companies Huawei, ZTE, Dahua, and Hikvision--all under some US embargo because they pose a threat to national security--are negotiating to provide services and products in the Northeast.

The exchange between China and the nine northeastern states has never been so intense. This year alone, four governors and two deputy governors of the region were in the Asian country - and the pilgrimage of secretaries was even greater. China has also sent countless entourages to the states.

The Northeastern Consortium Group, formed earlier this year by state governments to promote partnerships in the region, will soon launch the Connected Northeast program, a PPP (public-private partnership) to install thousands of kilometers of optical fiber and connect the states.

"Huawei and ZTE are studying digital education, security, and health, and are very interested in the Connected Northeast project," Piauí Governor Wellington Dias (PT) told Folha. ZTE invested in the Piauí Conectado PPP project for the installation of 5,000 kilometers of a fiber-optic network.

The US is trying to persuade President Bolsonaro to follow countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan, which have vetoed Chinese companies' investments and products for public procurement, government suppliers or anyone on government loans.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/business/2019/08/brazils-northeast-becomes-stage-for-cold-war-between-us-and-china.shtml

(Short article, no more at link.)

[TomVilmer]

1. The US is trying to persuade Brazil to veto Chinese companies' investments, but...

- Donald Trump floats idea of Brazil becoming Nato member. Bolsonaro, who was critical of China in his campaign, announced hours after meeting Trump that he will visit the country later this year.
- China's Huawei to invest $800 million in new Brazil factory in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, the governor said, as the Chinese tech giant ramps up its Latin American presence against U.S. objections.
- Bolsonaro now recognizes now that China is a strategic partner of Brazil.

[sandensea]

2. Something similar happened in neighboring Argentina

Shortly after Macri took office in late 2015, in an effort to woo U.S. support, he made a big show of halting construction on two hydroelectric power plants and two nuclear power plants.

This was an 85% Chinese-financed, $20 billion investment (the equivalent of China investing $500 billion in U.S. infrastructure).

But after his own Bushonomics-inspired policies quickly led to a crisis, Macri changed tack and in 2017 signed a three-year renewal of the 2014 currency swap (he had called the Yuan "little colored papers" at the time).

And in January, he re-authorized work on the dams.

The president-elect, Alberto Fernández, is expected to continue this rapprochement with the Chinese - while maintaining as positive a U.S. relationship as possible.

It would, of course, be a lot more possible with a Democrat as president - since Trump considers other countries "allies" only if their leaders are fascist kleptocrats like himself (Macri fit this role nicely).