This chapter introduces and operationalizes the Economic Weight Index to measure China’s and the United States’s economic influence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) from 2001 to 2020. The index, comprising trade, aid, investment, and loans data, reveals China’s dramatic rise in economic weight across all world regions, with LAC experiencing the most pronounced growth. Conversely, the US saw a significant contraction in its economic weight in LAC during this period. The analysis highlights regional variations, with South America experiencing the most substantial increase in Chinese economic weight and decrease in US influence. This quantitative approach provides a nuanced understanding of the shifting economic dynamics between China, the US, and LAC, laying the groundwork for exploring the causes and consequences of these changes.

This chapter explores the growing economic influence of China and its implications for state development. It develops a measure of China’s economic hierarchy and finds that Chinese support increases state capacity through different mechanisms than American hierarchy, primarily by enabling leaders to remain in power longer. The chapter also examines the interaction between American and Chinese economic hierarchies, revealing that their coexistence can undermine state capacity. It discusses the future trajectory of Chinese influence and its potential impact on partner states.