China Stakes Its Claim in Latin American Energy:

bargaining positions to secure local jobs as a requisite for foreign investment in infrastructure and energy. LAC could leverage its unique position, in the center of the US-China trade arena, to achieve sustainable economic development in the region. What the U. S. cannot afford, however, is a negative foreign policy. Opposing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may be acceptable policies to pursue domestically and in some international fora. But the U. S. will struggle to get LAC countries on board post-Trump unless it proposes compelling alternatives and reinvigorates itself as a leader in multilateralism. Greater participation in regional organizations, increased foreign aid and a capital increase at the Inter-American Development Bank would help attract the attention of LAC leaders. The Biden administration also has an opportunity to reset US-LAC relations and develop closer ties by encouraging private investment, particularly in mining, clean energy and infrastructure projects. Strengthening the U.S. Development Finance Corp. (formerly OPIC) - especially in its political risk insurance role – could help spur some private capital commitments. Additional U.S. assistance in programs to combat COVID-19 and administer vaccines in LAC is an essential

humanitarian initiative that generates goodwill and fosters opportunities for hemispheric cooperation. All these elements could help counterbalance Chinese engagement in LAC and strengthen the longstanding - though recently challenged - U.S. role in the region’s energy sector. The Trump administration’s policies consisting largely of hostility and rivalry with China are gone. But U.S. efforts to regain its place as a trusted partner across the Americas will demand not just a return to traditional international affairs. It will also require a coherent strategy that marries the U.S. vocation as a good

neighbor to a heightened role in multilateral institutions, increased foreign aid, new private investment and effective economic diplomacy.

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