I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2479 

To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report identifying 

efforts by the People’s Republic of China to expand its presence and 

influence in Latin America and the Caribbean and describing the implications of such efforts on United States interests, to require a briefing 

for Congress on the United States strategy to respond to these efforts, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2021 

Mrs. MURPHY of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a 

report identifying efforts by the People’s Republic of 

China to expand its presence and influence in Latin 

America and the Caribbean and describing the implications of such efforts on United States interests, to require a briefing for Congress on the United States strategy to respond to these efforts, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assessing China’s 

3 Presence and Influence in Latin America and the Carib4 bean Act of 2021’’. 

5 SEC. 2. REPORT ON EFFORTS BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 

6 OF CHINA TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE AND IN7 FLUENCE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CAR8 IBBEAN. 

9 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

11 coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, 

12 the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, 

13 and the head of any other Federal department or agency 

14 the Secretary of State determines appropriate, shall sub15 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

16 that identifies efforts by the People’s Republic of China 

17 to expand its presence and influence in Latin America and 

18 the Caribbean through diplomatic, military, economic and 

19 other means, and describes the implications of such efforts 

20 on United States interests. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub22 section (a) shall include the following: 

23 (1) An identification of— 

24 (A) countries of Latin America and the 

25 Caribbean with which China maintains the closVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479

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1 est diplomatic, military, and economic relation2 ships; 

3 (B) the number and content of comprehen4 sive strategic partnership agreements, strategic 

5 partnership agreements, or similar agreements, 

6 including any non-public agreements, that 

7 China has established with countries in Latin 

8 America and the Caribbean, including Argen9 tina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecua10 dor, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; 

11 (C) countries of Latin America and the 

12 Caribbean that have joined China’s Belt and 

13 Road Initiative or the Asian Infrastructure In14 vestment Bank; 

15 (D) countries of Latin America and the 

16 Caribbean to which China provides foreign as17 sistance or disaster relief, including access to 

18 COVID–19 vaccines, including a description of 

19 the amount and purpose of, and any conditions 

20 attached to, that assistance; 

21 (E) countries of Latin America and the 

22 Caribbean in which China, including its state23 owned enterprises and banks, have undertaken 

24 significant investments, infrastructure projects, 


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1 and lending activities at the national and sub2 national level; 

3 (F) countries of Latin America and the 

4 Caribbean with which China has negotiated, or 

5 is in the process of negotiating, trade agree6 ments; 

7 (G) the steps China has taken to benefit 

8 from the presence of natural resources in Latin 

9 America and the Caribbean, including oil, nat10 ural gas, rare earth metals, fisheries, and agri11 culture products; 

12 (H) the estimated number of students 

13 from countries in Latin America and the Carib14 bean who are earning degrees in China, includ15 ing through scholarships provided by the Chi16 nese Government or Chinese entities, and their 

17 courses of study; 

18 (I) recent visits by senior Chinese leaders 

19 to countries of Latin America and the Carib20 bean, and visits by senior leaders from Latin 

21 America and the Caribbean to China; and 

22 (J) countries of Latin America and the 

23 Caribbean that maintain diplomatic relations 

24 with Taiwan and any steps that China has 


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1 taken to encourage those countries to switch re2 lations to China. 

3 (2) A detailed description of— 

4 (A) the relationship between the Chinese 

5 Government and the Government of Venezuela 

6 and the Government of Cuba; 

7 (B) Chinese military installations, assets, 

8 and activities in Latin America and the Carib9 bean that currently exist or are planned for the 

10 future; 

11 (C) Chinese sales or transfers of defense 

12 articles and services to countries of Latin 

13 America and the Caribbean; 

14 (D) any other form of military, para15 military, or internal security cooperation be16 tween the Chinese Government and the govern17 ments of countries of Latin America and the 

18 Caribbean; 

19 (E) the nature, extent, and purpose of Chi20 nese intelligence activities in Latin America and 

21 the Caribbean, including in the space domain; 

22 (F) China’s role in transnational crime, in23 cluding drug trafficking and money laundering, 

24 in Latin America and the Caribbean; 


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1 (G) Chinese efforts to build its media pres2 ence in Latin America and the Caribbean and 

3 any government-directed disinformation or in4 formation warfare campaigns in the region, in5 cluding any campaigns conducted by China’s 

6 United Front Work Department; and 

7 (H) efforts by the Chinese Government to 

8 cultivate ties with political parties in Latin 

9 America and the Caribbean as a means to build 

10 influence, including any such efforts by the 

11 International Liaison Department of the Cen12 tral Committee of the Chinese Communist 

13 Party. 

14 (3) An assessment of— 

15 (A) the specific objectives that China seeks 

16 to achieve by expanding its presence and influ17 ence in Latin America and the Caribbean, in18 cluding any objectives articulated in official 

19 Chinese government documents; 

20 (B) whether certain Chinese investments in 

21 the region, including in port projects, Panama 

22 Canal projects, and telecommunications 

23 projects, could have military uses or dual uses 

24 or could enable China to monitor or intercept 

25 United States communications; 


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1 (C) the degree to which Chinese economic 

2 engagement in Latin America and the Carib3 bean has contributed to China’s economic lever4 age over countries in the region; 

5 (D) the degree to which China uses its 

6 presence and influence in Latin America and 

7 the Caribbean to encourage, pressure, or coerce 

8 governments in the region to support China’s 

9 foreign policy goals, including policy positions 

10 taken by China at international institutions 

11 such as the United Nations, the World Trade 

12 Organization, and the World Health Organiza13 tion; 

14 (E) documented instances of governments 

15 of countries of Latin America and the Carib16 bean silencing, or attempting to silence, local 

17 critics of China, including journalists, aca18 demics, and civil society representatives, in 

19 order to placate China; 

20 (F) environmental degradation resulting 

21 from China’s activities in Latin America and 

22 the Caribbean, including deforestation, air and 

23 water pollution, and illegal, unreported, or un24 regulated fishing; 


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1 (G) the rationale for China becoming an 

2 observer at the Organization of American 

3 States and a non-borrowing member of the 

4 Inter-American Development Bank and the 

5 Caribbean Development Bank; 

6 (H) China’s relationship with the Commu7 nity of Latin American and Caribbean States 

8 (CELAC), a regional organization that excludes 

9 the United States, and the role of the China10 CELAC Forum in coordinating this relation11 ship; 

12 (I) public opinion about China, and about 

13 China’s presence in Latin America and the Car14 ibbean, within different countries in the region; 

15 and 

16 (J) the specific actions and activities un17 dertaken by China in Latin America and the 

18 Caribbean that present the greatest threat or 

19 challenge to the United States interests in the 

20 region. 

21 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

22 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

23 a classified annex. 

24 (d) BRIEFING ON UNITED STATES STRATEGY.—Not 

25 later than 30 days after submission of the report required 


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1 under subsection (a), the Secretary of State or the Sec2 retary’s designee shall provide a briefing to the appro3 priate congressional committees on the United States 

4 strategy to respond to the efforts by the People’s Republic 

5 of China to expand its presence and influence in Latin 

6 America and the Caribbean, including a description of the 

7 public policies, legal authorities, and financial resources 

8 required for the United States to appropriately and effec9 tively counter these efforts. 

10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

15 Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 

16 on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select 

17 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep18 resentatives; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

20 Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 

21 on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee 

22 on Intelligence of the Senate. 

23 (2) LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.— 

24 The terms ‘‘Latin America and the Caribbean’’ and 

25 ‘‘countries of Latin America and the Caribbean’’ 


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1 mean the countries and non-United States territories 

2 of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, 

3 and Mexico. 

Æ 


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