Colombia Joining China-Backed Latin American Development Bank

Colombia’s government has applied to join a China-based development bank—another sign of Latin America’s drift away from the U.S., as the Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts, trade barriers, and immigration crackdown prompt many regional leaders to strengthen ties with Washington’s geopolitical rival, Joshua Goodman reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The New Development Bank has approved loans for 122 infrastructure projects totaling more than $40 billion in sectors such as transportation, sanitation, and clean energy. I Photo: APK Wikimedia Commons

Colombian President Gustavo Petro concluded his visit to China this week with a stop in Shanghai, where he met with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, now head of the New Development Bank.

The multilateral lender created a decade ago by the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—was designed as an alternative to U.S.-dominated institutions like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

To date, the New Development Bank has approved loans for 122 infrastructure projects totaling more than $40 billion in sectors such as transportation, sanitation, and clean energy, according to Rousseff.

Speaking to reporters in China, Petro said Colombia is committed to purchasing $512 million worth of shares in the bank.

He expressed particular enthusiasm about potentially securing funding for a 120-kilometer (75-mile) canal or railway connecting Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coastlines—an infrastructure project he said would place the country at the “heart” of trade between South America and Asia.

Colombia is the second Latin American country to apply for membership after Uruguay, which sought to join the bank in 2021.