The Government of Colombia requested adherence to the Novo Development Bank (NBD, also known as Banco dos Brics), which is headquartered in China, in another sign of Latin America’s removal from the United States.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro concluded a visit to China this week with a stop in Shanghai, where he met former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, head of NBD.
Reporters in China on Saturday, 17, Petro said Colombia is committed to buying $ 512 million in bank stocks. He said he is especially excited about ensuring NBD’s support for a 120 -kilometer channel or railroad connecting Colombia’s Atlantic and Peaceful back, which he would position the country in the “heart” of trade between South America and Asia.
Colombia is the second Latin American country to try to join the bank after Uruguay sought adhesion in 2021.
US reaction to the influence of China on AL
But Colombia’s traditional role as a faithful US ally and guardian in the war against drugs will probably not please Washington. The US State Department said this week that “it would be vigorously opposed” to the financing of projects linked to China’s belt and route initiative in Latin America.
Petro said he would not be dissuaded by US pressure and reaffirmed that Colombia seeks to remain neutral in a new era of geopolitical disputes. “We made that decision freely,” he said. “With the United States we can talk to face, with China too.”
