阿澤講旅遊 2024-02-02 河北美國中情局主管威廉·伯恩斯最近在《外交》雜誌撰文稱，由於中俄的崛起，美國喪失了其在國際舞台上的“絕對領導地位”，使美國感受到了日益增長的存在威脅。伯恩斯非常擔心這個趨勢，不僅是因為榜單上的變動，更重要的是，他們根本就沒有辦法阻止中俄的崛起。此外，伯恩斯還指出，由於敵人掌握了更為先進的科技，美國的情報努力正日益艱難。令人憂慮的是，美國各地都出現了這樣的憂慮。美國《新聞周刊》1月25號刊登了一份名為《中國資本瞄準了美國的要害》的調查報告，內容涉及拉美的經濟，該研究是根據美國專門研究拉美問題的研究機構發布的一份報告。
所以，它是非常專業和典型的。這篇論文的作者和參加調查的專家們都表達了對中國在拉美的投資越來越多的擔心。他們把中國在拉美的投資和改變看起來像是打在了美國“要害”上。中國在拉美的總投資額雖然比不上歐美，但其發展潛力很大，美國也沒有能力阻止。美國學者認為，中國在拉美的投資在最近幾年有所增加，這些投資集中在基礎設施建設，礦產開采，通信技術，金融技術和能源轉換等領域。而這些，正是美國所不具備的。比如，拉美長期以來一直是貧困和落後的國家，但他們都渴望發展自己的經濟，而基礎建設則是他們的先行者。用中國人的話來說，那就是：要致富，就得先修路。
素有“基建狂魔”之稱的中國，擁有著其他國家無法比擬的優勢。美國在欠發達國家的基礎上，許諾了無數的基礎設施，但這些基礎設施，卻一個都沒能實現。當然，這篇報道故意沒有提及中國的另一大優點，即中國不會對外國的基建項目提出任何苛刻的要求。美國公司的情況正好相反！中國在拉美的投資，也是與其他國家共享自身發展的一種方式，這讓拉美的民眾能夠以較低的成本，享受到遠超美國的先進技術，比如新能源汽車、先進的網絡技術等。中國擁有近乎完整的稀土和其他稀有礦物的產業鏈，中國新能源企業正在對拉美的關鍵資源如鋰礦進行大量投資。美國企業也能買得起那些礦石，但美國公司並不需要這麽大的生意，而且他們也希望能在最短時間內獲得豐厚的收益。類似這樣的投資項目數不勝數，雖然中國在拉美的投資額隻占很小的一部分，但中國擁有強大的製度優勢。這類投資通常是政府引導下的長期性行動，而基建先行則能讓更多私人資金盡早融入本地。
國企是一種長期的投資，而不是為了短期的高收益，這也使得中國在價格上占據了絕對的優勢。美國一向視拉丁美洲為自家後花園，美國也不想看到拉美有什麽強國，拉美自從獨立以來，雖然沒有經曆過大規模的戰爭，但也沒能走出貧窮和落後。分析家們將其歸咎於美國對世界的掌控與破壞。美國把其他國家的崛起看作是對自身的一種威脅，這似乎並不令人感到意外。美國拉美研究學者和中央情報局的負責人都有一個共同點，即他們在中國合法的、合法的投資上毫無競爭力，而且他們也沒有更好的控製手段。美國在過去幾十年裏一直穩居全球第一，其最大的優勢並非在技術上，也非在經濟上，而在建立在軍事上的強權政治上。美國公司更習慣於在壟斷的條件下進行競爭，但如果讓他們和其他國家的公司進行公平、平等的競爭，那就太不容易了。眾所周知，許多歐美跨國公司之所以能獲得如此豐厚的利潤，就是因為它們利用了壟斷的優勢，不斷推出高價格的產品。中國製造的產品質量好，質量好，可以和他們一較高下，這是很正常的事情。
更讓美國人擔心的是中國的高技術公司，比如華為，已經進入了全球市場，勢必會擠壓美國公司的市場，利潤豐厚的年代即將結束。這才是讓伯恩斯頭疼的地方，一旦美國失去了最大的優勢，那麽美國的公司，也就不會再有什麽優勢了。而且在同等條件下，他們非常擔心美國公司的競爭能力！
China's Money Aims To Hit US Where It Hurts
https://www.newsweek.com/china-money-latin-america-hit-technology-report-investment-1863865
By Aadil Brar Jan 25, 2024
China's foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean is undergoing a significant transformation as the economic giant shifts its strategic focus from traditional sectors to technology-driven investments.
This move is poised to have a far-reaching impact, not only on the region's economic landscape, but also on global competition, according to a report published this month by the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C., think tank focused on the region.
Chinese FDI is changing from putting monies into large infrastructure projects under Chinese leader Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, to investments focused on industries of the future—a key area in the U.S.-China technology war. It is set to challenge the traditional dominance of U.S. and European funding.
Historically, Chinese companies concentrated their investments in the region's vast agricultural and extractive resources, particularly in South America's largest markets. From 2003 to 2022, Chinese FDI in Latin American and the Caribbean reached $187.5 billion, according to the report.
The sum still falls below the FDI levels of the United States and Europe during the same period, but Chinese companies are actively expanding their presence in the region, pursuing targeted opportunities in the "new infrastructures" field in almost all nations there, the authors said.
"Many of these new, priority areas are described by China as 'new infrastructure,' a term which encompasses industries—telecommunications, fintech, and energy transition, for instance—that are broadly innovation-related, but also key components of China's economic growth strategy," they wrote.
"These sectors are among those that some G7 nations have themselves sought to prioritize in [Latin American and the Caribbean] and other parts of the Global South," they said.
Margaret Myers, one of the coauthors of the report, said: "Our data show a clear shift in Chinese FDI towards specific industries in Latin America and the Caribbean."
In the first half of last year, China's FDI data for the region showed the shift had already begun, with reduced attention on big-ticket projects and notable acquisitions by Chinese businesses in electricity generation and transmission.
Utility deals comprised 40 percent of China's total investments from January to July 2023, the report said, while high-end manufacturing accounting for 28 percent.
In Brazil, Chinese electric carmaker BYD plans to establish a plant. In Chile, a Chinese firm has acquired lithium assets, linking extraction and processing of the critical mineral—used in EV battery manufacturing—to a potential buyer on the same continent.
China currently dominates the global market for rare and critical element mining and refinement, with the U.S. still playing catch-up after offshoring its supply chains to other parts of the world.
Across the region, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei was among other Chinese firms to have expanded their footprint. Their focus now extends to data centers, cloud computing and 5G technology, the think tank said.
In Colombia, for instance, Chinese companies have been actively expanding 5G infrastructure while integrating Internet of Things technologies, cloud services and cybersecurity solutions.
Computing accounted for a significant 41 percent of total information and communication technology investment in the region between 2018 and the first half of 2023, the report said.
In 2022, Chinese FDI in these industries—strategically targeted as an alternative to American and Western funds—accounted for 58 percent of its $3.7 billion in annual investments in the region. It also constituted more than 60 percent of the total FDI deals announced by Chinese companies in the same year.
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About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian security. Aadil previously reported for the BBC World Service. He holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and SOAS, University of London. Send tips or suggestions to Aadil at a.brar@newsweek.com.
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
