Assessing China’s Presence and Influence in Latin America and the Caribbean Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2479 To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report identifying efforts by the People’s Republic of China to expand its presence and influence in Latin America and the Caribbean and describing the implica- tions of such efforts on United States interests, to require a briefing for Congress on the United States strategy to respond to these efforts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 13, 2021 Mrs. MURPHY of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report identifying efforts by the People’s Republic of China to expand its presence and influence in Latin America and the Caribbean and describing the implica- tions of such efforts on United States interests, to re- quire a briefing for Congress on the United States strat- egy to respond to these efforts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2479 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assessing China’s 2 Presence and Influence in Latin America and the Carib- 3 bean Act of 2021’’. 4 SEC. 2. REPORT ON EFFORTS BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 5 OF CHINA TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE AND IN- 6 FLUENCE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CAR- 7 IBBEAN. 8 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 9 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 10 coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, 11 the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, 12 and the head of any other Federal department or agency 13 the Secretary of State determines appropriate, shall sub- 14 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 15 that identifies efforts by the People’s Republic of China 16 to expand its presence and influence in Latin America and 17 the Caribbean through diplomatic, military, economic and 18 other means, and describes the implications of such efforts 19 on United States interests. 20 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub- 21 section (a) shall include the following: 22 (1) An identification of— 23 (A) countries of Latin America and the 24 Caribbean with which China maintains the clos- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2479 IH est diplomatic, military, and economic relation- 1 ships; 2 (B) the number and content of comprehen- 3 sive strategic partnership agreements, strategic 4 partnership agreements, or similar agreements, 5 including any non-public agreements, that 6 China has established with countries in Latin 7 America and the Caribbean, including Argen- 8 tina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecua- 9 dor, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; 10 (C) countries of Latin America and the 11 Caribbean that have joined China’s Belt and 12 Road Initiative or the Asian Infrastructure In- 13 vestment Bank; 14 (D) countries of Latin America and the 15 Caribbean to which China provides foreign as- 16 sistance or disaster relief, including access to 17 COVID–19 vaccines, including a description of 18 the amount and purpose of, and any conditions 19 attached to, that assistance; 20 (E) countries of Latin America and the 21 Caribbean in which China, including its state- 22 owned enterprises and banks, have undertaken 23 significant investments, infrastructure projects, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2479 IH and lending activities at the national and sub- 1 national level; 2 (F) countries of Latin America and the 3 Caribbean with which China has negotiated, or 4 is in the process of negotiating, trade agree- 5 ments; 6 (G) the steps China has taken to benefit 7 from the presence of natural resources in Latin 8 America and the Caribbean, including oil, nat- 9 ural gas, rare earth metals, fisheries, and agri- 10 culture products; 11 (H) the estimated number of students 12 from countries in Latin America and the Carib- 13 bean who are earning degrees in China, includ- 14 ing through scholarships provided by the Chi- 15 nese Government or Chinese entities, and their 16 courses of study; 17 (I) recent visits by senior Chinese leaders 18 to countries of Latin America and the Carib- 19 bean, and visits by senior leaders from Latin 20 America and the Caribbean to China; and 21 (J) countries of Latin America and the 22 Caribbean that maintain diplomatic relations 23 with Taiwan and any steps that China has 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2479 IH taken to encourage those countries to switch re- 1 lations to China. 2 (2) A detailed description of— 3 (A) the relationship between the Chinese 4 Government and the Government of Venezuela 5 and the Government of Cuba; 6 (B) Chinese military installations, assets, 7 and activities in Latin America and the Carib- 8 bean that currently exist or are planned for the 9 future; 10 (C) Chinese sales or transfers of defense 11 articles and services to countries of Latin 12 America and the Caribbean; 13 (D) any other form of military, para- 14 military, or internal security cooperation be- 15 tween the Chinese Government and the govern- 16 ments of countries of Latin America and the 17 Caribbean; 18 (E) the nature, extent, and purpose of Chi- 19 nese intelligence activities in Latin America and 20 the Caribbean, including in the space domain; 21 (F) China’s role in transnational crime, in- 22 cluding drug trafficking and money laundering, 23 in Latin America and the Caribbean; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2479 IH (G) Chinese efforts to build its media pres- 1 ence in Latin America and the Caribbean and 2 any government-directed disinformation or in- 3 formation warfare campaigns in the region, in- 4 cluding any campaigns conducted by China’s 5 United Front Work Department; and 6 (H) efforts by the Chinese Government to 7 cultivate ties with political parties in Latin 8 America and the Caribbean as a means to build 9 influence, including any such efforts by the 10 International Liaison Department of the Cen- 11 tral Committee of the Chinese Communist 12 Party. 13 (3) An assessment of— 14 (A) the specific objectives that China seeks 15 to achieve by expanding its presence and influ- 16 ence in Latin America and the Caribbean, in- 17 cluding any objectives articulated in official 18 Chinese government documents; 19 (B) whether certain Chinese investments in 20 the region, including in port projects, Panama 21 Canal projects, and telecommunications 22 projects, could have military uses or dual uses 23 or could enable China to monitor or intercept 24 United States communications; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2479 IH (C) the degree to which Chinese economic 1 engagement in Latin America and the Carib- 2 bean has contributed to China’s economic lever- 3 age over countries in the region; 4 (D) the degree to which China uses its 5 presence and influence in Latin America and 6 the Caribbean to encourage, pressure, or coerce 7 governments in the region to support China’s 8 foreign policy goals, including policy positions 9 taken by China at international institutions 10 such as the United Nations, the World Trade 11 Organization, and the World Health Organiza- 12 tion; 13 (E) documented instances of governments 14 of countries of Latin America and the Carib- 15 bean silencing, or attempting to silence, local 16 critics of China, including journalists, aca- 17 demics, and civil society representatives, in 18 order to placate China; 19 (F) environmental degradation resulting 20 from China’s activities in Latin America and 21 the Caribbean, including deforestation, air and 22 water pollution, and illegal, unreported, or un- 23 regulated fishing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2479 IH (G) the rationale for China becoming an 1 observer at the Organization of American 2 States and a non-borrowing member of the 3 Inter-American Development Bank and the 4 Caribbean Development Bank; 5 (H) China’s relationship with the Commu- 6 nity of Latin American and Caribbean States 7 (CELAC), a regional organization that excludes 8 the United States, and the role of the China- 9 CELAC Forum in coordinating this relation- 10 ship; 11 (I) public opinion about China, and about 12 China’s presence in Latin America and the Car- 13 ibbean, within different countries in the region; 14 and 15 (J) the specific actions and activities un- 16 dertaken by China in Latin America and the 17 Caribbean that present the greatest threat or 18 challenge to the United States interests in the 19 region. 20 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 21 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 22 a classified annex. 23 (d) BRIEFING ON UNITED STATES STRATEGY.—Not 24 later than 30 days after submission of the report required 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2479 IH under subsection (a), the Secretary of State or the Sec- 1 retary’s designee shall provide a briefing to the appro- 2 priate congressional committees on the United States 3 strategy to respond to the efforts by the People’s Republic 4 of China to expand its presence and influence in Latin 5 America and the Caribbean, including a description of the 6 public policies, legal authorities, and financial resources 7 required for the United States to appropriately and effec- 8 tively counter these efforts. 9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 10 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 12 mittees’’ means— 13 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 14 Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 15 on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select 16 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep- 17 resentatives; and 18 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 19 Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 20 on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee 21 on Intelligence of the Senate. 22 (2) LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.— 23 The terms ‘‘Latin America and the Caribbean’’ and 24 ‘‘countries of Latin America and the Caribbean’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2479 IH mean the countries and non-United States territories 1 of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, 2 and Mexico. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2479.IH H2479 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS