Bloomberg Line – The week was marked by the meeting between United States President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to give new impetus to their bilateral ties amid geopolitical and economic tensions. The meeting took place as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco (USA).
What impact will the new US-China rapprochement have on Latin America?
The U.S. and China are trying to repair their strained and frayed relationship as they fight for influence in Latin America, a key resource export region, amid political upheaval in several of the largest regional economies as they play their own geopolitical chess.
Latin America and the Caribbean play a key role in the Asian giant’s growing influence in the regionAccording to a recent ECLAC report, the value of trade has multiplied this century from $14,000 million in 2000 to $500,000 million in 2022.
An example of the impact of this trade flow is that “one in five dollars of value added generated in Latin America and the Caribbean is exported to China, in the agricultural, livestock and fishing sectors, as well as mining products,” says Cepal.
The US and China have agreed to strengthen dialogue on issues such as the fight against drugs, the resumption of high-level military exchanges and the establishment of an artificial intelligence working group, but have also expressed their differences. particularly on China’s territorial ambitions in Taiwan.
Trust deficit and protectionism: Latin America’s main risks for 2024
Over the past three years, Latin America has endured the economic and social shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine and the recent conflict in the Middle East, with Israel and Palestine in the headlines.
These scenarios, which have changed inflation and slowed economic growth, as well as the social crises specific to each country, are crucial for the near future of the regionThis marks an increasingly detailed risk map that will impact businesses and investments in the future.
The main identified risks impacting the region relate to political and institutional mistrust, risk management, climate change and geopolitical realignment. They are summarized in the Global Risk Forecast by the consulting firm Control Risks and passed on to Bloomberg Línea for Latin America.
The lack of technical talent is worrying in Latin America and means millions of jobs
The global need for technological talent, amid an accelerated process of digitalization and with the “boom” of artificial intelligence (AI), has become the trigger of a crisis that Latin America and the world in general are experiencing: the shortage of human talent specialized in technology.
The calculations, while far off, reflect a single concern. Korn Ferry, the global human resources consultancy, recently reported this, for example By 2030, the world will have a global talent deficit that could amount to 85 million jobswhich directly affects the technology sector.
For Latin America, a study by the international consulting firm IDC estimates that 2.5 million new information and communications technology (ICT) professionals will be needed by 2028 as companies and governments digitally expand.
Remittances in Latin America will rise at a record pace in 2023: which countries will receive the most?
Remittances received from Latin American and Caribbean countries could reach a record $155,908 million in 2023which would mean an increase of 9.5% at the end of the year compared to 2022, according to new forecasts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
If Latin America and the Caribbean maintains the pace through the end of 2023, the trend would consolidate to fifteen consecutive years of growth “reflects new intra-regional migration flows and the contribution that migrants make to their countries of origin.”
In 2021, a significant growth of 26.7% was recorded in remittances amid the devastation caused by Covid-19.
“The remittances that immigrant families from Latin American and Caribbean countries receive significantly contribute to reducing their poverty They are one of the main reasons for international migration“, emphasizes the organization.