Managing Debt and Development: How China’s Financial Statecraft Works in Latin America
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Stephen B. Kaplan
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
Institute for International Economic Policy
George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs
This talk presents concepts from Kaplan's book Globalizing Patient Capital: The Political Economy of Chinese Finance in the Americas, published by Cambridge University Press.
China has extended financial ties with economically risky countries in Latin America as part of a globalized industrial policy that internationalizes its firms, secures access to resources, and cultivates trade opportunities, primarily through its policy banks. While China openly criticizes austerity tied to Western lending, its IMF partnership often supports similar policies, and its creditors manage risk with resource-backed loans and forbearance rather than outright debt forgiveness. This divergence in debt strategy, combined with China’s growing influence in global finance, complicates multilateral debt relief and regional growth, as China’s willingness to cooperate on debt relief depends on its strategic interests and position within international financial institutions. The book uses cross-national and comparative case study analysis to demonstrate these patterns, offering new insights into the political economy of sovereign debt and development in the region.
Cosponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
Stephen B. Kaplan is associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Institute for International Economic Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. He specializes in global finance and development, Chinese foreign investment, and the political economy of Latin America. He is the author of Globalizing Patient Capital: The Political Economy of Chinese Finance in the Americas (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and Globalization and Austerity Politics in Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2013).