A short thread on China-Bolivia relations as we celebrate the watershed victory of MAS and the return of people& #39;s democracy to Bolivia:
Chinese investment played a crucial role in MAS& #39;s state-led agenda of national development and independence from international financial institutions such as the IMF.

Between 2000 and 2014, bilateral trade between the two nations exploded from $75.3 million to $2.25 billion.
MAS leaders often contrast Chinese investment from Bolivia& #39;s past subjugation under IMF austerity.

As Evo Morales put it after meetings with Xi Jinping in 2018, "China& #39;s support and aid to Bolivia& #39;s economic and social development never attaches any political conditions."
In 2018, Bolivia entered the Belt and Road Initiative. As of 2015, China had committed $10 billion in investment for transporation and energy infrastructure as part of Morales& #39; Five-Year National Development Plan.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/19/c_137265305.htm">https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2...
Ironically, Chinese investment in Bolivia has been railed against by U.S. diplomats as predatory and exploitative.

Yet President-elect Luis Arce has drawn a sharp contrast between Chinese and Russian bilateralism and U.S. imperialism.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/30/bolivias-socialist-presidential-candidate-luis-arce-speaks-about-elections-covid-19-and-fascist-oppression/">https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/3...
China& #39;s role in Bolivia& #39;s lithium industry, nationalized under MAS, drew particular ire from imperialists and Western transnational corporations.

In 2019 a Chinese firm was tapped lithium projects which would protect state ownership over lithium extraction and manufacturing.
Evo Morales described his forced removal as a "lithium coup" motivated by Western transnational corporations that had been "left out" of Bolivia& #39;s lithium partnerships with Chinese and European firms. https://twitter.com/sahouraxo/status/1206716376498479114">https://twitter.com/sahouraxo...
The brief Áñez regime reduced ties with China, Cuba, & Russia, and attempted to force through new IMF loans—making clear the coup aimed to remake Bolivia as a neocolonial dependency.

May MAS& #39;s victory mark a new era in Bolivian self-determination and Chinese-Bolivian friendship!
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