III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 458 

Denouncing efforts by the People’s Republic of China to exert malign 

influence in Latin America. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. BUDD, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. KELLY, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. 

HASSAN, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. BENNET) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Denouncing efforts by the People’s Republic of China to 

exert malign influence in Latin America. 

Whereas, as of October 2023, the People’s Republic of China 

is the main trading partner for South America, including 

Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, and the second largest 

trading partner for Central America; 

Whereas 21 countries in Latin America have joined the Belt 

and Road Initiative, 4 countries in Latin America have 

free trade agreements in place with the People’s Republic 

of China, and 7 countries in Latin America have comprehensive strategic partnership agreements with the 

People’s Republic of China; 


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•SRES 458 IS 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has worked to expand the use cases of the digital yuan for the Belt and 

Road Initiative, even using the digital yuan to settle 

cross-border transactions; 

Whereas trade between Latin America and the People’s Republic of China has grown by more than 

$300,000,000,000 annually since 2000; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China is a voting member 

of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank and provides loans to Latin 

America through the China Development Bank and the 

Export-Import Bank of China, including to Venezuela, 

which has approximately $60,000,000,000 worth of Chinese state loans as of October 2023; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has invested in or 

bid on numerous infrastructure projects in Latin America, including around the Panama Canal, such as deepwater ports, telecommunications projects, and cyber networks; 

Whereas investments offered to countries in Latin America 

by the People’s Republic of China often require countries 

to renegotiate the terms of their debt and have low or 

nonexistent labor and environmental standards; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China’s refusal to disclose 

its lending to foreign countries and reluctance to engage 

in significant debt restructuring is undermining the missions of the International Monetary Fund and the World 

Bank related to global economic development and stability; 

Whereas, in 2021, the People’s Republic of China developed 

a Joint Action Plan with the Community of Latin AmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Nov 09, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR458.IS SR458

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ican and Caribbean States to promote cooperation on 

governance, economic, and security policy; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has invested more 

than $70,000,000,000 in the raw materials sector in 

Latin America, including critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has sought to export 

military hardware to Latin America and bolster intelligence operations and cooperation with governments in 

Latin America, including by establishing a defense forum 

with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean 

States; 

Whereas Taiwan served as a permanent observer to the Central American Parliament for more than 2 decades before 

the Central American Parliament voted on August 21, 

2023, to expel Taiwan and replace it with the People’s 

Republic of China; 

Whereas State-owned Chinese media operates in Latin America and conducts malign influence operations with a goal 

of influencing public opinion relating to activities conducted by the People’s Republic of China and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; and 

Whereas the United States has a vested interest in maintaining and growing the important bilateral and multilateral 

relationships it has with countries in Latin America, 

which are underscored through cooperation at the Organization of American States and through trade agreements and strategic dialogues: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) notes the importance of continuing to de3 velop and establish trade agreements with bilateral 


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1 partners in Latin America and pursue multilateral 

2 and regional engagement through international fora 

3 to counter involvement of the People’s Republic of 

4 China in economic, political, and security issues in 

5 the Western Hemisphere; 

6 (2) urges additional United States investment 

7 in and foreign assistance to Latin America, includ8 ing by expanding opportunities for private sector in9 vestment in critical infrastructure projects or by de10 veloping and promoting new public-private partner11 ships with partners in Latin America to strengthen 

12 the economic engagement of the United States and 

13 advance democratic governance in the region; 

14 (3) expresses gratitude to Belize, Guatemala, 

15 Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, 

16 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for their con17 tinued support for Taiwan; 

18 (4) condemns efforts by state-owned Chinese 

19 media to conduct information operations in Latin 

20 America and sow distrust in public institutions, in21 cluding judicial systems; 

22 (5) supports transparent bidding processes for 

23 projects related to the telecommunications and infor24 mation and communications technology sectors in 

25 Latin America as well as other critical infrastructure 


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1 projects, including cyber and digital connectivity 

2 projects; 

3 (6) encourages the President and the Secretary 

4 of State to work with the Senate to expeditiously 

5 nominate Ambassadors and ensure diplomatic per6 sonnel are swiftly confirmed to the relevant posts to 

7 ensure continued engagement with partner govern8 ments in Latin America; 

9 (7) emphasizes the importance of continuing to 

10 provide technical assistance to partners in Latin 

11 America, including assistance to counter 

12 disinformation, corruption, and economic coercion 

13 through available mechanisms such as the United 

14 States International Development Finance Corpora15 tion; 

16 (8) reaffirms the importance of the annual 

17 Summit of the Americas as an opportunity to pro18 mote the bilateral and multilateral relationships be19 tween the United States and allies and partners in 

20 Latin America, including new initiatives established 

21 as a result of cooperation at the Summit of the 

22 Americas such as the Americas Partnership for Eco23 nomic Prosperity; 

24 (9) acknowledges the 24 active partnerships the 

25 United States has with defense and security forces 


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1 in Latin America through the State Partnership 

2 Program of the National Guard, which include an 

3 emphasis on implementing the Women, Peace, and 

4 Security Strategy of the United States; and 

5 (10) renews its commitment to establishing, up6 holding, and investing in partnership opportunities 

7 between the United States and Latin America. 

Æ 


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