“China’s advance is not only taking place in our region, it is a global phenomenon,” said the ambassador.
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The brand new ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, assured that the good harmony between President Alberto Fernández and his Chinese colleague, Xi Jinping, marked “unprecedented cooperation” between the two countries, something that he judged “was key to maintaining the robustness of our health system”, with the arrival to the country of about 1,500 tons of medical supplies from the Asian giant since the beginning of the pandemic, in addition to the provision until the moment of a million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.
Tlam: -How do you evaluate the cooperation with China due to the pandemic?
Vaca Narvaja: -President Alberto Fernndez generated a lot of empathy with Xi Jinping: he was one of the first countries to show solidarity with the situation in Wuhan. I sent a personal letter to Xi Jinping at a difficult time for China: those gestures that set international relations on fire. They then exchanged five more letters and maintained a telephone communication in which the Chinese president invited him to make a state visit. Coordination in the face of the pandemic was key to maintaining the robustness of our health system. If we add the 42 flights -35 flights to Shanghai and 7 flights to Guangzhou- plus the 5 ships, we are close to 1,500 tons of medical supplies: respirators, chinstraps, protective suits, goggles, gloves. Coordination continues and, this year, China has already donated 25 respirators and a mobile hospital. Now the effort is focused on vaccines. 904 thousand doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have already arrived on a special Aerolneas flight and another 96 thousand doses on commercial flights.
T: -Will there be a new batch of Sinopharm vaccines?
VN: -The negotiation is permanently open and the Ministry of Health is coordinating to increase the supply of vaccines according to the production capacity of the plants. Sinopharm’s vaccine has been approved for emergency use in 36 countries and regions, and more than 44 million doses have been applied inside and outside of China. The safety and efficacy indicators have exceeded the requirements of the WHO authorization standards. As with medical supplies, China is likely to become one of the most important vaccine suppliers in the world: it has 16 vaccines being developed in Phase II and has 4 vaccines that have already completed Phase III, among them is that of Sinopharm.
T: -How was the negotiation for the million Sinopharm vaccines?
VN: -Bilateral relations turned 49 years old, which marks the continuity of a State policy. Although it is also true that the period in which the ties deepened was during the administrations of Nstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernndez. Now, our Government has deployed a strategy to guarantee the largest quantity of vaccines in the shortest time possible. Initiated negotiations with various countries and laboratories that produce vaccines. These efforts were successful, given the current world situation. The negotiation was carried out by the Ministry of Health with the support of the Chancellor and monitored by the President. In the final stage, the President sent a letter to XiJinping and Foreign Minister Felipe Sol to his peer Wang Yi, which put the negotiation at the highest level. The role of the Chinese Ambassador Zou Xiaoli was central, like that of the Chinese Chancellor, because they left a special guard on the most important holiday, the new year linked to the lunar calendar. The export authorization procedure was carried out in record time. I also want to highlight the efforts of the heads of the Foreign Relations committees of the Deputies and the Senate, Eduardo Valds and Jorge Taiana. Congress has the mechanism for inter-parliamentary political dialogue, which began in 2015. Taiana, furthermore, is widely recognized for having been Chancellor in the period of greatest advance in bilateral relations.
T: -What expectations do you assign to the invitation for Alberto Fernández to make a state visit in May?
VN: -It is going to be fundamental to specify various projects in which most of the ministries have been working: infrastructure, exports, cooperation in science and technology, hydrocarbons, housing, tourism, educational exchanges, cultural promotion. In addition, the Government is studying the incorporation of Argentina into the Belt and Road Initiative, a body that is entered on a bilateral basis. It is an ambitious infrastructure plan launched by Xi Jinping in 2013: in 2017 Latin America was incorporated as an extension of the maritime silk route in the 21st century. The incorporation of Argentina could open new sources of financing.
T: -Why the comprehensive strategic partnership with China can benefit Argentina?
VN: – Ours is one of the countries in the region that received the most investment from China: around 40% of that country’s investment. The key is to leverage our development vectors. We need a lot of investment in infrastructure to grow in energy, from generation to transmission lines, more nuclear energy, wind energy, hydroelectric, hydrocarbons, gas pipelines. In addition, Argentina has a lot of potential in mining. If one analyzes countries such as Peru, Brazil and Chile, one can see that they have a positive trade balance with China: this is basically explained by the export of minerals. If Argentina, in addition to exporting minerals, adds added value, for example lithium, we industrialize our minerals and advance in a strategic development since we have some of the best lithium reserves and an automotive installed capacity that could quickly be reconverted.
T: -What are the Chinese investment plans for the next few years?
VN: -It is our main financier, with the presence of banks such as ICBC, CDB, EximBank, Bank of China and, more recently, Argentina’s entry into Banco Asitico de Inversin en Infraestructura (BAII). In addition, it is our main investor in railway works, such as the Belgrano Cargas and the Roca, or the southern dams, the main hydroelectric investment in the region. China is our second commercial partner, we maintain a commercial exchange, with around 16 billion dollars with a trade deficit that fluctuates between 5,000 and 6,000 million dollars. Last year, even in a pandemic, when for four consecutive months China became our first trading partner, surpassing Brazil. The trade deficit is due to the fact that we export agricultural products concentrated in soybeans and beef and we import manufactured products. That is why the commercial challenge is to gain added value in our exports. We have potential in e-commerce, very strong in China. Argentina is working to develop an “Argentine National Pavilion” that concentrates a catalog of Argentine products from these trading platforms to boost sales and expand new markets.
T: -Are there any infrastructure projects that can receive Chinese financing?
VN: -Many projects that are being resumed were started in the last administration of Cristina Fernndez and then they were paused, for different reasons. The relaunch is being studied but new ones are also being incorporated, with a federal perspective. For example, YPF, the Ministry of Energy and ENARGAS are working on the Vaca Muerta-Brazil gas pipeline project in which Chinese companies in the sector are interested in investing. The project seeks to access new markets to export the potential of shale-gas and also optimize the transportation system. The project for the IV nuclear power plant with Hualong technology, one of the most advanced in the world, is also being managed. This work allows us to continue diversifying the energy generation matrix and will generate around 7 thousand jobs directly. It also consolidates us as a leading actor in the region in nuclear matters, continuing with the strategic guidelines in this sector.
T: Could China’s investments mean a break in US influence in the region?
VN: – China’s progress is not only occurring in our region, it is a global phenomenon linked to its installed productive capacity and its stage of development. It is in an expansive stage of its economy. But the real dispute is not so much about trade if not about the technological vanguard. Likewise, China and the United States remain main trading partners. The companies of both countries have an enormous interdependence. The dynamics of the Trump administration greatly eroded the relationship, but the effects were not very effective for the Trump administration. China consolidated its domestic market and was one of the few countries that grew in the pandemic in 2020. On the other hand, countries in our region such as Chile maintain very good relations with both China and the United States. Our analysis must be focused on the well-being of our population and this is linked, centrally, with our development: it is important to work with a regional perspective and analyze the vectors and strategic areas so that our region can take advantage of this world situation in terms of resources. and potential we have.
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