This report, prepared by FARN, Fundeps, and Fundación CAUCE, analyzes the first financing approved by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Argentina and its socio-environmental implications. Drawing on the case of the wind power project in Tierra del Fuego, the document is key to understanding the challenges of international financing for the energy transition, as well as the importance of ensuring transparency, citizen participation, and adequate environmental standards.
Tag Archive for: Chinese Investments
In September 2023, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved its first financing operation for Argentina, amounting to USD 65 million, aimed at the construction of a wind farm near Río Grande, in the province of Tierra del Fuego. This was the institution’s first project in the country since Argentina’s official accession to the AIIB in 2020.
However, despite its approval, the project was recently cancelled. The reasons for this decision include the lack of sovereign guarantees and a shift in the national political landscape following the inauguration of President Javier Milei in December 2023.
The analysis conducted by FARN, Fundeps, and Fundación CAUCE examines the project, its socio-environmental implications, and the challenges it poses in relation to international financing for the energy transition. In addition, the document offers a review of the AIIB’s role in the region and the institutional framework governing its involvement in infrastructure projects.
The case of the wind farm in Tierra del Fuego illustrates how the interplay between geopolitics and changes in national priorities can influence the implementation of strategic projects. It also underscores the importance of transparency, access to public information, and effective mechanisms for citizen participation, particularly when projects may generate impacts on protected natural areas, such as the Atlantic Coast Reserve, a Ramsar site of international importance for migratory birds.
This study builds on the ongoing monitoring work carried out by these organizations on international financial institutions operating in Latin America.
Update
After the document went to press, the AIIB officially cancelled the project due to the Argentine National State’s failure to provide the required sovereign guarantee.
Although this decision alters the project’s administrative status, it does not diminish the relevance of the analysis, which remains key to understanding how such financing mechanisms are structured, what standards apply, and the opportunities and tensions facing Argentina’s energy transition.
The official project information sheet is available at:
https://www.aiib.org/en/projects/details/2025/_download/Argentina/P000654-Argentina-Tierra-del-Fuego-Energy-Transition-Support-Project-PSI-Oct.-7-2025.pdf
A necessary debate on the energy transition
The AIIB’s experience in Argentina raises important questions about how to advance toward a just energy transition, supported by robust socio-environmental safeguards, effective citizen participation, and coherence between local needs and international commitments, as well as the role of multilateral development banks.
From our organizations, we continue to promote the production of public information, citizen oversight, and the defense of environmental rights as fundamental pillars of a transition that respects territories and communities.
Contact:
Gonzalon Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
As the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) holds its annual meeting in Beijing this week, Fundeps, along with partner organizations from Latin America and other regions, supports the call for this institution to fulfill its promise to promote inclusive, environmentally sustainable development with effective civil society participation.
In an open letter (available here) to AIIB President Jin Liqun, a group of Latin American organizations presented a series of observations and proposals on how the Bank can better support initiatives to address the climate, environmental, and economic challenges affecting the region by developing a more strategic approach, supporting innovative strategies in the transport sector, and promoting a just energy transition, based on greater transparency and strengthening civil society participation.
The open letter, which is also supported by partner organizations in Europe and other regions, highlights the need for a new paradigm that guides infrastructure investments to effectively promote transparent, sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient infrastructure, moving beyond the conventional approach focused on top-down, planned, and imposed megaprojects. According to the Latin American civil society organizations, “new infrastructure should not negatively affect ecosystems or the habitats of local populations, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized groups… On the contrary, infrastructure investments should prioritize the quality of life of local communities and guarantee the integrity of ecosystems.”
“We have no doubt that incorporating the perspective of civil society in a structured manner can help the Bank identify integrated solutions better aligned with its climate commitments, anticipate social and environmental risks at an early stage, and improve the results of its interventions in the region,” said Daniel Lopes Faggiano, Executive Director of the Maíra Institute and co-author of the public statement. In the open letter, we conclude by noting that establishing spaces that promote the participation of civil society organizations could become a transcendental legacy of the outgoing AIIB President, Jin Liqun, whose term expires in January 2026.
About the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The AIIB was established in 2016 under the leadership of China, with the aim of promoting infrastructure projects in Asia and other regions of the world. The Bank began operations with 57 founding members, an initial capital of US$100 billion, and its headquarters in Beijing. It currently has 110 members, of which 100 are “full members”—both regional members from Asia and Oceania and other regions—and 10 potential members. Full members from Latin America include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Uruguay.
More information
- AIIB Annual Meeting
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- Argentina in the AIIB
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative: what are they?
- How to access information and make a complaint to the AIIB and the Belt and Road Initiative?
Contact
Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org
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.
This article aims to analyze the consequences of Argentina’s entry into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The structure of the Bank is analyzed, covering its characteristics and the performance of the institution in general terms, the repercussions of Argentina’s entry are considered, contemplating advantages and disadvantages and, finally, the effects associated with joining this institution are considered. to China’s projection on the international stage.
This document presents an analysis of the background and motivations that led Argentina to become a member of the AIIB and the implications that derive from it, as well as the possibility that Argentina advances in its incorporation into the BRI in the short term. In the same way, the challenges and opportunities that both initiatives represent for the country are addressed.
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.
Throughout this report we will discuss, first of all, a series of data on the current situation of Argentina in relation to lithium production that places it in a central role within the world concert. Then we will focus on the mining governance system, stating the laws that configure it, its main elements and those points that merit further analysis. Subsequently, we will address, from some indicators suggested by the Standard, the two projects that are in the lithium production stage in Argentina: the Fénix Project in the Hombre Muerto salt flat and Sales de Jujuy in the Olaroz-Cauchari salt flat. In particular, regarding whether or not to publicize their contracts, as a fundamental link in terms of publicity and transparency in the development of these projects.
On March 3 and 4, we participated in the workshop on Final Beneficiaries of Companies in the extractive and energy sector of Argentina, held in the City of Buenos Aires. The event was organized by Opening Extractives (a program co-implemented by EITI and Open Ownership) and the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA).
“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 workshop had among its objectives to raise awareness about the importance of public information of the final beneficiaries, and at the same time, provide resources and materials to increase research, projects and analysis within this field.
In this sense, the training was divided into three modules: first, content and information on final beneficiaries was presented, from the theoretical to the legal and also practical, both nationally and internationally. Those who spoke in this first module were: Andrés Knobel from the Tax Justice Network; María Eugenia Marano, specialist in corporate law; Pamela Morales, Undersecretary of Mining Development of the Government of the Nation; Gonzalo Fernández of the Ministry of Mining Development of the Nation; and Lucía Cirimello from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Secondly, civil society organizations had the opportunity to present their projects related to the theme. In this way, Edgardo Livitnoff (Red Ruido Coordinator) presented progress on the report “Lithium and transparency in Argentina” that we prepared together. For her part, Eugenia Rodríguez (Centro de Economía Política Argentina) shared details about the work of her organization: “The rich of Argentina”.
Finally, the third module consisted of a practical workshop given by Mariel Fitz Patricks, in which tools and resources were provided for approaching final beneficiaries. The journalist helped us, mainly, to access information and how, in this way, to enrich work carried out and to carry out on the subject.
This instance was very fruitful, not only in terms of knowledge and learning, but also in terms of the possibility of meeting peers from other civil society organizations, with whom one could work together in the near future.
More information:
Author
Maitén de los Milagros Fuma
Contact
Maria Victoria Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org
This interactive map presents 9 cases of projects that have the participation and financing of Chinese companies, which are monitored by the Regional Group on Financing and Infrastructure (GREFI) and the Regional Coalition for Transparency and Participation in Peru, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil.
The objective is to make known the basic information of the projects, the location, the current situation and the socio-environmental impacts that have generated or that could be generated if they are implemented.