We recently returned from Quito, Ecuador, where we met with several of our composers and other musicians. But as we walked around that city, it was difficult not to notice how the city streets were seemingly being dominated by Chinese cars. In fact, on one day, on our way walking to a nearby shopping center, we passed by not one, but two Chinese auto dealerships.
Wanting to know more about this issue, I turned to data provided by the Observatory of Economic Complexity, which clearly illustrates the relationship between the importation into Ecuador of US and Chinese automobiles during the period, 2002 to 2022. While the US share during this period never exceeded 15% of the total number of automobiles exported into Ecuador (and in fact, it has been usually mired in the single digits), as of 2011, the share of Chinese automobiles has dramatically risen to a point at which this country, during 2022, accounted for over 30% of the vehicles being imported into Ecuador.
Frankly, we should not be surprised: not only has the exportation of all sorts of Chinese-made consumer goods been expanding in Latin America, as early as 2018, the New York Times reported that “Latin America is now the second-largest destination for Chinese investment, after Asia.”[1] In Ecuador, for example, during the final few years of the 2010s this included a great deal of highway construction. Moving forward to 2024, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has been expanding his country’s influence worldwide, which now includes a $3.5 billion Chinese-funded deepwater port in Chancay, Peru.
Credit: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
The importance of this port cannot be overestimated. Not only does it offer the possibility of reducing shipping times between the west coast of South America and Asia, in addition, because of its extensive use of automation, there will be a corresponding reduction in the costs of logistics. Furthermore, due to its larger size, the Chancay port will be able to handle ships too large for the Panama Canal. Because of the above, this port represents a direct threat to the economic viability not only of the Panama Canal, but to every other port from Colombia to Chile.[2] And now that this port is nearly finished, one wonders how much longer it will be before the idea of a transcontinental railway, first articulated in 2008, will finally connect the Chancay port with several ports along Brazil’s eastern coast.
US response to these and other similar initiatives has been, in the best of cases, one of indifference; and in the worst, almost insulting. For example, at the most recent annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum held last November in Lima, former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that Lima would be the recipient of the “donation” of a number of rail cars that had recently been retired by San Francisco’s commuter rail line company. Manufactured in 1985, Caltrain (the company that operates San Francisco’s commuter rail lines) reported having received $6.32 million from the sale of 90 passenger cars and 19 diesel locomotives.[3] Though the construction of a commuter rail line in Lima may very well lead to a reduction in vehicular congestion, the city must cover not only the associated construction costs, but also, it must provide approximately $17 million in shipping costs. Furthermore, many in Lima have expressed their concern that the city had not been provided any information as to whether any of this equipment is still in good working condition.[4]
I want to be very clear: Though no particular enmity is intended towards China or any other country, having left spaces that we used to fill, it is natural that others have been coming along to fill them. Sadly, this has not been limited to consumer goods or construction projects, but also, there has been a considerable Chinese investment in music. Though more difficult to substantiate, we do know, for example, that in 2013, the Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica donated more than $1 million worth of musical instruments to the Jamaican Defense Force Band. Four years later, China’s embassy in Chile donated a number of instruments to a youth orchestra. Through its Confucius Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 2020 an Ecuadorian violinist won a Chinese-sponsored music competition that led to his participation in a virtual concert with the Symphonic Orchestra of China.[5] In 2025, China donated musical instruments to the School of Orchestras and Student Choirs in Nicaragua.[6]
We also know that China is recruiting students for its various universities and music conservatories. For example, Colombian musicians Mauricio Barbón and Shirley García write about their experience entering and studying at Chengdu University, including how they were given a full scholarship.[7]
Although I have provided quantifiable information regarding importation, amounts spent on construction projects, etc., in the end, it is always about the intangibles. In other words, at what point do we start paying attention to the fact that allegiances are under assault? And, that our country’s position as a hemispheric leader, is certainly not guaranteed.
It used to not be this way. At the very least, we had a much more commonly understood interest in the classical music of the Americas. Why is this important? Though one hopes that very little of the above is news to our readers, the likely reality is that very few of us are aware of the magnitude of a problem that has been developing over the course of several decades. Decades ago, however, when interest in the classical music of our hemisphere was much more pronounced and widespread, so too, was there a greater knowledge and appreciation of the social, political and economic affairs of our southern neighbors. Though far from perfect, perhaps, by rekindling our interest once again in this music, we may once again center the Pan-Americanism that used to define us.
John L. Walker
[1] Alfonso Serrano, “China Fills Trump’s Empty Seat at Latin America Summit,” New York Times, April 13, 2018.
[2] https://www.thewirechina.com/2024/08/25/chinas-port-power-chancay-port-peru/
[3] Olivia Harden, “Caltrain finds international buyer for retired diesel fleet,” SFGate, November 15, 2024.
[4] “Municipalidad de Lima pagará más de 24 millones de dólares para concretar donación de locomotoras a Perú desde EE.UU.,” Correo, November 17, 2024.
[5] El Universo, October 31, 2020.
[6] https://www.el19digital.com/articulos/ver/titulo:144521-republica-popular-china-dona-mas-instrumentos-musicales-a-nicaragua
[7] https://mareaspacifico.univalle.edu.co/estudiar-y-trabajar-en-el-campo-de-la-musica-clasica-occidental-en-china-por-que-no/