Chinese Railway Investments in Brazil: Socio-Environmental Implications for the Amazon and Cerrado
Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Maurício Santoro & Maiara Folly
2023
#Trade and FDI
#Latin America
As China’s interests and presence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) expand, Chinese firms have been changing their strategy in Brazil. More specifically, they have been diversifying away from buying financial assets toward more greenfield investments, through which China-headquartered companies develop local operations using Brazil-based subsidiaries. Transportation is a key sector for such investments not only due to the vast demand in Brazil, but also because of the accumulated experience of Chinese firms in transportation projects elsewhere in LAC and across Asia and Africa, as well as the Chinese government’s economic and strategic interests in this sector. As these transportation projects are planned and implemented, both Brazilian and Chinese actors are working to learn, adapt, and negotiate the parameters, norms, and practices around these initiatives.
