Gallagher in Emerge 85 on China’s Future in Brazil
Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy and Director of the Global Development Policy Center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was recently interviewed on China’s future in Brazil as China continues investing in fragile, cash-strapped sectors such as energy and infrastructure.
Gallagher was quoted in a November 20, 2017 article in Emerge 85 entitled “Beyond Soybeans and Samba: China’s Future in Brazil.”
From the text of the article:
Chinese capital dedicated specifically to long-term investment is somewhat of a novelty. Brazil is, of course, no stranger to crimson renminbi notes. At the turn of the last century, Brazil caught the wave of Chinese economic growth as the People’s Republic joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). With its long list of unique natural resources, Brazil was perfectly placed for a post-WTO China. From soybeans to feed Chinese pigs and beef cuts for a burgeoning Beijing middle class, to iron ore and special metals to build the hundreds of Chinese cities, Brazil has “won the China lottery”, as Kevin Gallagher, professor of global development policy at Boston University, described it to me.
China can make more rapid advances investing in fragile, cash-strapped sectors such as energy and infrastructure. “After the 19th [Communist] Party conference this year in Beijing, there are clear signs that Chinese companies will ‘go global’ and move outside China,” said Gallagher. “Brazil is a key market for this. And a third wave could come in the form of technology and banking.”
Brazil has a specific relationship with China. As the biggest regional player with a sizable presence on the world stage, Brazil ought to approach the relationship more tactically. “They [the Chinese] have a huge buffet-style menu of things they need and want to buy. But no one is asking them for things,” said Gallagher. Brazil would do well to start thinking a la carte.
Gallagher served on the U.S. Department of State’s Investment Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and the International Investment Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He has served as a visiting or adjunct professor at the Paul Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico; Tsinghua University in China; and the Center for State and Society in Argentina. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinPGallagher.