China Outpaces US as Leading Mining Investor in Latin America
China has become the leading foreign investor in Latin America's mining industry, surpassing the United States. According to data from Platts, China invested $10.05 billion between 2014 and September of this year, while the US invested $8.38 billion over the same span.
The trend began to shift in favor of the US after President Joe Biden introduced a friendshoring initiative in 2022 aimed at boosting output of critical minerals such as lithium and copper among close US trading partners. Since then, US investment has exceeded China's, with $4.50 billion invested versus $2.77 billion.
However, Chinese state-owned companies have historically carried a different risk profile than many Western investors, according to Rebecca Ray from the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. They lack quarterly profit objectives or earnings targets and instead follow five-year plans, giving them more tolerance for short-term swings stemming from political shifts or commodity price movements.