Latin America

During last year's presidential election, Xiomara Castro said she planned to establish diplomatic and commercial ties with mainland China.
International relations

New Honduran president drops push to ditch Taiwan for China

Castro signals change in plans with eye on all-important ties with U.S.

29 January 2022
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Taiwanese Vice President William Lai plans to make a stop in the U.S. city on his way to Honduras.
US-China tensions

Taiwan VP to stop in Los Angeles and San Francisco during trip abroad

China objects to William Lai's U.S. stopovers on his way to Honduras

21 January 2022
Honduras' president-elect, Xiomara Castro, gestures during a ceremony to receive her presidential credentials at the Plaza Juan Carlos hotel, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Dec. 30. 
International relations

Taiwan to send VP Lai to Honduran President Castro's inauguration

Taipei says it will work with new leader to deepen relations

19 January 2022
Prior to winning November's presidential election in Honduras, Xiomara Castro of the leftist Liberty and Refoundation Party said if victorious, she would open diplomatic ties with China. But her team has since backtracked on that stance.
15 January 2022
Wellheads painted in Ecuador's national colors at an oil rig of state oil company Petroamazonas.
Trade

Ecuador applies for CPTPP membership to diversify trade

South American nation seeks to reduce reliance on oil

29 December 2021
A Rincon Mining employee takes a sample at a lithium plant in Argentina. Rio Tinto will acquire Rincon's project for $825 million.
Business deals

Rio Tinto's $825m Argentina lithium deal extends battery push

Agreement follows $2.4bn decision to buy Serbian lithium project

23 December 2021
Chile's President-elect Gabriel Boric delivers a speech on Dec. 19 to supporters in Santiago, Chile, after his victory.
Politics

Chile's CPTPP membership in limbo with leftist win

Millennial Boric scores presidency by tapping into frustrations over inequality

21 December 2021
Posco has a test plant for lithium extraction at the Hombre Muerto salt pan in Argentina. The name is Spanish for "dead man." (Photo courtesy of Posco)
Materials

Lithium supply: Posco to build $830m plant in Argentina

South Korean steel group makes its latest investment in battery materials

18 December 2021
"The People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," Nicaragua's foreign ministry said in a statement issued in Spanish and English.
International relations

Nicaragua severs ties with Taiwan, switches allegiance to China

Taipei now has just 14 formal diplomatic allies; US calls for expanded engagement

10 December 2021
Ganfeng Lithium holds a stake in the Mount Marion lithium project in Western Australia. (Photo courtesy of Ganfeng Lithium)
Materials

China's Ganfeng Lithium stakes out overseas claims in hot market

Lithium 'supermarket' aims to double production by 2025 as EV demand swells

8 December 2021
Workers arrange blades at an assembly line in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, in April 2016: many of the necessary ingredients for productivity-led development are missing across much of  Southeast Asia.
Opinion

Southeast Asia risks stumbling toward a South American future

Current trajectory suggests region will struggle to escape middle-income trap

28 November 2021
A screen displays leaders of the BRICS nations, clockwise from top left, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Cyril Ramaphosa and Jair Bolsonaro attending the 13th BRICS summit via video link on Sept. 9: strongmen tend to be weak where it matters most.
Opinion

Why the BRICs nations have not turned the world upside down

Grouping was never ready for today's crop of leaders

24 November 2021
Mining equipment at the Cananea copper mine in Mexico. Copper is high on the list of Mexican exports to China.
Trade

'No special treatment' for China's CPTPP bid: Mexican trade official

Undersecretary de la Mora says Beijing's application will face necessary screening

24 November 2021
Climate activists in Glasgow on Nov. 12: The  UN Climate Change Conference was scheduled to end that day, but an agreement proved elusive.
COP26

Marathon COP26 talks extend into Saturday 'to find right balance'

Rules for carbon offsets prove sticking point at Glasgow conference

13 November 2021
Bruno Serra, monetary policy director at Brazil's central bank, says rates could be raised more than 150 basis points in December if conditions warrant. (Photo courtesy of Banco Central do Brasil)
Interview

Brazil's central bank eyes bigger rate hike to step up tightening

December increase will exceed 1.5 points if 'necessary,' monetary policy director says

8 November 2021
Marta Lucia Ramirez, Colombia's vice president and foreign minister, spoke with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Nov. 7. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Interview

Colombia invites Japan to be full member of Pacific Alliance

Vice president sees growing interest around Asia in trade pacts with Latin America

7 November 2021
Honduran presidential candidate Xiomara Castro speaks at an event in Tegucigalpa. She has pledged to end 80 years of relations between Honduras and Taiwan.
International relations

As China campaigns to cut off Taiwan, Honduras poised to flip next

Beijing woos Central America and Caribbean with vaccines and infrastructure

3 November 2021
Women stand in front of a currency exchange office in Istanbul. The Turkish lira depreciated by 8% since the end of August.
Currencies

From Turkey to South Korea, strong dollar squeezes the energy-poor

Higher U.S. interest rates drive investors to greenback

14 October 2021
Argentina holds the world's second-largest identified reserves of lithium, but is currently the third-largest producer. 
Materials

Chinese investors jostle over Argentine lithium mines

Gold producer Zijin and battery maker CATL join race for key EV material

13 October 2021
While Western countries were initially reluctant to share limited supplies of coronavirus vaccines made with cutting-edge technology, China relied on a conventional production method and was able to rapidly scale up capacity. 
COVID vaccines

China's global vaccine gambit: Production, politics and propaganda

How Beijing has shaped the world's COVID immunization drive

12 October 2021
Shopee's office in Singapore: The platform has brought to Latin America the strategies that made it Southeast Asia's top online retailer.
Retail

Singapore e-tailer Shopee takes Latin America by storm

Sales and games vault Sea brand to top of Brazil app stores in just 2 years

12 September 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the BRICS summit via a video link in Moscow on Sept. 9.
Afghanistan turmoil

BRICS summit: Putin blasts US over Afghanistan 'crisis'

Leaders urge 'inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue' to ensure stability, law and order

10 September 2021
Activists shout slogans during a protest against Indian government of using Pegasus spyware in New Delhi on Aug. 2: mistrust among the government, opposition and local leaders has rarely been higher.
Opinion

Pegasus spyware threatens to chip away our freedoms

Tech companies are already playing a larger and more destabilizing role

17 August 2021
U.S. lawmakers warn that the political turmoil in Haiti may open doors to "political interference by the People's Republic of China."
International relations

US-China rivalry hangs over Haiti a month after president's killing

Beijing looks to sway Taiwan-aligned country in Washington's backyard

7 August 2021
Cuban and Japanese flags fly on top of the plane bringing Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Havana in 2016.
International relations

Japan's top diplomat kicks off tour of Central America and Cuba

Tokyo to push back against Beijing with infrastructure and vaccine aid

16 July 2021