2015 was the year of China's South-South diplomacy, and it brought quite a lot of positive fruit. Looking at Latin America, China bailed out Venezuela with around $20 billion at the start of the year, made investments totaling tens of billions of dollars in Argentina, announced the ambitious trans-oceanic railroad between Brazil and Peru, and is building the unprecedentedly difficult Nicaragua Canal.
Shifting the angle to Africa, President Xi committed $60 billion worth of investment after his recent trip there, plans to open up its first foreign military base in Djibouti, and has remained the continent’s top trading partner.
And lastly, the Silk Road is progressively being revived all across Eurasia, with Central Asia and Russia forming Asia’s main path to Europe.
Vladimir Sotnikov, International Affairs expert at the Institute of the World Economy and Foreign Relations and the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences (studio guest); Brian Yeung, independent contributor to Chinese and English media (Hong Kong); and Alexander Lomanov, Chief Researcher of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies(RAS) commented on the issue.
