China has become a powerful trading partner for many Latin American countries and its financial influence is also increasingly felt. This is reason for both celebration and concern.

中国不但已是许多拉美国家的重要贸易伙伴，对该地区的金融影响力也日益增强。这既是可喜之事，也引起担忧。

Newly released data from the Inter-American Dialogue, a think-tank, show that despite sluggish global economic growth, lending to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by Chinese development banks reached a near record in 2015.

华盛顿智库美洲对话组织(Inter-American Dialogue)最新发布的数据显示，虽然全球经济增长乏力，但2015年中国开发银行发放给拉美和加勒比地区(LAC)的贷款却达到接近历史最高纪录的水平。

The China Development Bank and the China Export-Import Bank lent a total of $29.1bn last year to governments and state-owned corporations in the region, almost three times the amount in 2014 and more than the combined loans to LAC from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

去年，中国国家开发银行(CDB)与中国进出口银行(China Export Import Bank)向该地区各国政府及国有企业发放贷款共计291亿美元，是2014年的近3倍，超过了该地区从世界银行(World Bank)及美洲开发银行(Inter-American Development Bank)获得的贷款总和。

Lending from the two Chinese policy banks came close to the $33.4bn that LAC governments managed to raise in the capital markets and dwarfs the $786m raised through international bank syndicated loans in 2015, according to data provider Dealogic.

根据数据提供商Dealogic，2015年这两家中国政策性银行对该地区发放的贷款，接近于该地区各国政府在资本市场筹集的334亿美元资金，并使该地区通过国际银行银团贷款形式筹集的7.86亿美元相形见绌。

Last year’s lending was less only than that of 2010, when China’s post-crisis stimulus was in full flood.

中国去年对该地区发放的贷款仅少于2010年，那一年，中国在金融危机以后出台的刺激措施达到了高潮。

The bad news is that while the international investor community likes lending to orthodox issuers, and thereby reinforces sustainable macroeconomic policies among borrower governments, China tends to channel funds to nations that can simply match its demands for natural resources, or where it can make financing conditional on the involvement of Chinese companies and workers in the development of infrastructure and other projects.

坏消息是，相比起国际投资者群体喜欢贷款给传统的证券发行主体、从而推动借款方政府强化可持续的宏观经济政策，中国倾向于贷款给那些能满足本国对自然资源需求的国家，或者那些为获得融资而答应在基础设施及其他项目的建设中让中国企业、工人参与的国家。

Venezuela has been by far the main recipient of loans from Beijing. Since records began in 2005, the oil-rich country has received $65bn from China, more than half the total to the region. Last year, it secured $10bn to finance energy-related projects.

委内瑞拉是得到中国贷款最多的拉美国家。自2005年有记录以来，这个拥有丰富石油资源的国家已从中国获得650亿美元贷款，超过中国对该地区放贷总额的一半。去年，委内瑞拉获得了北京100亿美元贷款，为能源相关项目融资。

“China has facilitated, particularly in Venezuela, unfortunate policymaking and has potentially prolonged [president Nicolás] Maduro’s ability to stay in power,” says Margaret Myers, China and Latin America programme director at the Dialogue. “Who knows what would have happened without Chinese finance.”

“中国助长了糟糕的政策制定，尤其是在委内瑞拉，而且有可能延长了总统尼古拉斯氠岚坧(Nicolás Maduro)继续掌权的能力，”美洲对话组织的中国与拉美项目主管马格里特迈尔斯(Margaret Myers)说，“如果没有来自中国的融资，谁知道会发生什么。”

There are concerns about China’s relationship with Argentina, too. Under former president Cristina Fernández Argentina signed a bilateral agreement on economic co-operation and investment with China, which was approved by congress in March 2015, seven months before elections that brought a change of government.

人们对中国与阿根廷的关系同样怀有担忧。前总统克里斯蒂娜费尔南德斯(Cristina Fernández，上图左)当政期间，阿根廷与中国签署了一项关于经济合作与投资的双边协议。2015年3月，阿根廷国会批准了该协议，但7个月后的大选带来了政府更迭。

Under the agreement, Chinese companies can bypass public tenders for infrastructure projects if Chinese banks offer project finance, and the two governments can sign additional agreements to launch public work projects without approval in Argentina’s congress.

该协议规定，如果中资银行提供项目融资，中国企业就可以不通过公开招标直接获得基建项目，而且，两国政府可以通过签署附加协议来启动公共工程项目，无需经过阿根廷国会批准。

Beijing recently announced the creation of $35bn worth of investment funds that it intends to dedicate to LAC infrastructure and other projects.

最近，北京宣布将创建350亿美元的投资基金，计划用于拉美和加勒比地区的基础设施及其它项目。

People familiar with the process say Argentina and other LAC countries have solicited Chinese finance by presenting unpublished lists of pre-selected projects. The worry, says Ms Myers, who has seen one such list, is over how investments are identified and the apparent lack of scrutiny of their feasibility, utility or environmental impact.

知情人士表示，阿根廷与该地区其他国家曾通过提供不公开的预先选定项目清单来吸引中国融资。曾见过一份此类清单的迈尔斯表示，这种做法的问题在于如何确定这些投资，以及项目的可行性、效用或环境影响方面明显缺少审查。

Things may change under Argentina’s new, more market-orientated government. The crisis in Venezuela, widely expected to tip over into debt default and a change of government this year, may also lead to a reassessment there of the appeal of Chinese finance.

阿根廷新一届的更具市场导向意识的政府或许会让情况发生变化。委内瑞拉爆发的危机——被普遍认为将在今年引发债务违约及政府更迭——也可能会让该国对中国融资的吸引力进行重新评估。