South-South Collaboration and Interdependent Development: Negotiating Chinese Investment in Colombia

How should we understand the impact of autocratic regimes, particularly China, on development in the Global South? As authoritarian powers like China deepen their economic engagement in developing countries, they challenge long-standing dynamics of dependency and dependent development. This paper critically explores the complexities of Chinese investment in Colombia, arguing that while autocracies present significant risks - especially in promoting illiberal norms - their economic influence in the Global South offers nuanced opportunities that cannot be dismissed. Understanding these dynamics requires a reassessment of how autocracies impact global governance and development. For decades, the Global North has structured economic relationships with the South to extract cheap resources and surplus labor, perpetuating cycles of dependency and reinforcing economic inequalities. In this context, U.S.-based multinational corporations (MNCs) in Latin America, specifically in Colombia, which have been active for over a century, have focused on maximizing profits with minimal regard for labor rights or local development. This has been facilitated by their close ties with Colombian elites, who have suppressed workers’ demands to maintain favorable conditions for foreign capital. Against this backdrop, this research challenges simplistic assumptions of China merely replicating traditional patterns of dependency and exploitation: The paper argues that the increasing Chinese investments and MNCs in Colombia since the early 2000s exemplify a shift away from traditional dependency, offering specific dynamics of "post-dependent" development. The paper shows that, while Chinese MNCs are not immune to exploiting legal loopholes when entering new countries and markets, they do demonstrate greater flexibility, steeper learning curves, and, under specific conditions, a greater willingness to adapt to the demands of the target country's government and workforce over time than their U.S.-based counterparts. These strategies, however, are not driven by mere altruism or a commitment to democratic values, but by China’s own developmental priorities and its need to secure political and economic influence in the Global South. Hence, while these engagements open up new opportunities for countries in the South, they come with significant political and social risks. The key implication of this research is that democracies in the Global North must reevaluate their development policies in response to these emerging dynamics. To counterbalance the growing influence of autocratic powers like China, democracies must offer more equitable, sustainable, and democratic development alternatives to the Global South, ultimately enhancing the independent development of the Southern target countries. Against this backdrop, this paper calls for a rethinking of development strategies, urging democracies to improve their engagement with developing countries and create a counterweight to autocratic models of development. Methodologically, Colombia serves as a crucial case due to its 200 years of diplomatic relationship with the United States that have resulted in dependent development, only disrupted by a growing presence of China. Guided by a qualitative approach and elements of grounded theory, the research combines documentary research and 64 expert and participant interviews, including Colombian and Chinese workers, CEOs, unionists, and members of governmental institutions, with ethnographic observations from over two years of online and in-person fieldwork in Colombia.