Miles Yu, Washington Times

On April 1, Chinese defense officials converged at La Paz, Bolivia, for a grand ceremony to deliver the ground station for a Chinese-launched communications satellite. …

China is marching on in Latin America, accompanied by a few ideological fellow travelers, such as Venezuela and Cuba. In the past decade, China has developed strategic partnerships with late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro, as well as Cuba’s Fidel and Raul Castro. Chinese naval vessels have cruised the Caribbean to spread goodwill, and People’s Liberation Army soldiers have been sent to the Venezuelan jungle to conduct “anti-terrorism” military drills.

Currently, a large number of Chinese trainees are in Cuba learning Spanish. Chinese leader Xi Jinping made his foreign policy debut in Cuba before assuming his supreme post. During his visit, he blasted the U.S. for being an imperialist power while visiting Comrade Fidel.

China’s stride in Latin America may still have a long way to go, but as the Chinese often say, a long journey always starts with a first step.

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