In recent years, Argentina joined two initiatives promoted by China of great potential and relevance: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative. In this document we explain how to request information from these institutions and how to make complaints when their projects affect the rights of communities.
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In recent years, Argentina joined two initiatives promoted by China of great potential and relevance: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative. In this document we explain what they are and why we are interested in knowing them.
Much of what happens in Argentine foreign policy is linked to China, hand in hand with its growing global influence, which is why it is important to know initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative. , in which China is its main promoter. At Fundeps we share documents with basic and accessible information about these initiatives, placing emphasis on practical resources to access information and their accountability mechanisms.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents China’s flagship global connectivity and infrastructure development program that aims to boost trade and new political and economic ties with participating nations, primarily emerging and “developing” countries. ”. For its part, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank created in 2015 at the initiative of China that currently has more than 100 member countries around the world and finances projects in other regions, such as Latin America and the Caribbean or Africa.
The AIIB is closely linked to the Belt and Road Initiative not only because the processes of formation of these two instruments were promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and occurred simultaneously, but also because the AIIB constitutes the main tool financing for projects that are part of the IFR. Likewise, both are part of a process of geopolitical reconfiguration where the center of gravity of the world economy turns towards the Asia Pacific. Furthermore, both have been the subject of criticism since their inception in relation to the negative environmental and social impacts that their projects have generated and the lack of transparency, accountability and citizen participation in their design and implementation.
The role that the AIIB and the IFR play – and will play in the medium-short term – in Argentina is much closer and more tangible than we believe: although they seem like initiatives or actors that are distant and unrelated to the local reality, through Their actions promote or facilitate the implementation of large infrastructure and energy projects in the country that, in turn, have – or may have – a direct or indirect impact on people’s daily lives and may affect social and/or environmental rights. , especially from the populations and communities linked to the projects. In fact, there is already a first approved project in Tierra del Fuego that will be financed by the AIIB for an amount of 65 million dollars and, within the framework of the IFR, there are various projects committed in our country. For this reason, it is essential to monitor them, know how to access information about the projects and how to file a complaint with the Bank’s accountability mechanism.
In addition to this and given the frequent lack of transparency of Chinese banking and the general lack of knowledge about it, at Fundeps we share these updated brochures with summarized information about the AIIB and the Belt and Road Initiative. We also added instructions on how to make a complaint to the Project Affected Persons Mechanism (PPM), the AIIB’s accountability mechanism.
How does the situation influence?
During the current government of Javier Milei, diplomatic ties between both countries have been strained due to the reconfiguration of the new administration’s foreign policy, with greater geopolitical alignment with the United States and the West. We can also mention certain measures such as the decision of the Argentine government to visit the Chinese space base in Neuquén or renounce Argentina’s membership in the BRICS bloc, the brake on infrastructure works with Chinese financing or even statements by the President himself or of Foreign Minister Diana Mondino. This has been reflected, among other things, in the difficulties in the negotiations to renew the swap with China – currency exchange between the central banks of both countries – or in the weakening of the commercial link, which has moved China to fourth place. place as Argentina’s trading partner, currently positioning itself behind Brazil, the European Union (EU) and the United States.
However, it is worth highlighting that the link between Argentina and China continues to be very important, and will continue to be so in the future, regardless of the government in power.
A bilateral relationship of a strategic nature
The bilateral relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Argentina has been strengthening in recent decades and has acquired greater relevance since the 2000s, becoming established, almost 10 years ago, as a Comprehensive Strategic Association. It includes an expansion in the areas of cooperation and covers not only economic and financial aspects but also political, commercial, technological, cultural, health and investment matters. This strengthening of ties was reflected in the incorporation of Argentina to the two initiatives mentioned here.
The signing of a Joint Declaration in 2004 and the Comprehensive Strategic Association in 2014 have been, at the diplomatic level, two unavoidable antecedents to understand Argentina’s entry into the IFR and the AIIB. Given the continuity and long-term projection of the Sino-Argentine link, it can be said that Argentina’s entry into the IFR (in 2022) and the AIIB (from 2021, as a non-regional member), are consistent with the rapprochement and consolidation of bilateral relations since their normalization in 1972 and crystallize this long-standing bond between both countries, posing both opportunities and challenges for our country.
- Document: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative: what are they and why do they matter in Argentina?
- Document: How to access information and make a complaint at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative?
- Infographic on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
- Infographic on the Belt and Road Initiative (or “New Silk Road”).
Contact
Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
Infographic with basic and simple information about the Belt and Road Initiative (or “New Silk Road”).
Infographic with basic and simple information about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The purpose of the following report is an updated approach to the first AIIB project in Brazil, including its political, economic and environmental dimensions. First, an analysis is carried out on the main characteristics of the project, context and actors involved; then, we proceed to analyze the implications for Brazil of receiving such financing; and finally, the main environmental consequences are exposed.
The “CONAFIPS COVID-19 Credit Line project” has made Ecuador the first Latin American country to receive a Latin American loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. This report reviews the project, emphasizing its fundamental characteristics, context, environmental and social standards, and main criticisms and concerns about it.
Since 2021, Argentina officially integrates the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. For our country, the AIIB represents a new multilateral source of financing for strategic sectors such as infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and transportation, among others. However, the AIIB is a little-known bank. How does it work and what are the implications for the country of joining this institution promoted mainly by China? We present a new report with the analysis.
Today, October 28, the Argentine Chamber of Deputies approved the bill to enter our country into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Thus, the incorporation of Argentina as a Non-regional Member to the bank is made effective.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.
On September 3, the Argentine Senate approved the bill for the entry of the Argentine Republic to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -AIIB-. The approval of the law was carried out today, October 28, in the Chamber of Deputies by 235 positive votes and 4 negative votes.
The management for Argentina to form part of the Bank began in the first Forum ‘One Strip and One Route for International Cooperation’ held in 2017, in which the previous government management affirmed the country’s intention to be part of the AIIB and the The Bank’s Board of Directors approved the admission of Argentina to the Institution.
The Asian Bank was born in 2015 at the initiative of China and began operating in January 2016. It has 102 members from different regions of the world. AIIB is a multilateral financial institution and, between completed and ongoing projects, has already financed 138 infrastructure projects.
For Argentina, joining the AIIB means an additional alternative to access financing for infrastructure works through a new multilateral organization. However, although it has been proposed as a different alternative to Western multilateral banking, the AIIB does not escape the logic, operation and even institutional structure that characterizes institutions such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the Inter-American Development Bank. . In this sense, from civil society, criticisms and questions have been raised regarding the transparency, accountability and environmental sustainability of the projects financed by the bank, which should be taken into account by Argentina when receiving financing of this institution.
More information
- Argentina, one step away from becoming a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – Fundeps
- Argentina-China: cooperate in adverse times – Fundeps
- Are the brothers united ?: Profiling the Sino-Argentina relationship in the government of Alberto Fernández – Fundeps
- The role of the AIIB in the New Green Silk Road – Fundeps
Contact
Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
The article proposes an approach to financing the Silk Road and the Silk Road Initiative, trying to analyze the extent to which the recently created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) plays as a “financial engine” of the Initiative, It represents (or not) an opportunity for the objective of greater environmental and social sustainability in the infrastructure projects carried out within the framework of the “New Green Silk Road”.