Economic Benefactor or Risky Dependence? Ambivalence in China–Brazil Agribusiness Ties

Bibliographic Data

ID8239356
AuthorsPedro Abelin (0000-0003-0404-8039, University of Maryland, College Park, corresponding author), Margaret M Pearson (0000-0003-4266-9450, University of Maryland, College Park)
Year2026
Publication date2026-03-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Politics in Latin America (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1868-4890 • E-ISSN: 1866-802X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1866802x261434254
OpenAlexW7137972558
LanguageEN
References cited46

China's growing economic presence in developing countries raises important questions about the political impact of its activity in those countries, and its interaction with domestic politics. This issue is highly salient in Brazil, where trade ties with China have deepened considerably in recent years in tandem with rising anti-China sentiment on the political right. This study examines how Brazilian right-wing agribusiness elites reconcile the extraordinary economic benefits they have reaped from exports to China with their partisan and negative views towards China. Our analysis of thirty-eight long-form interviews with agribusiness-linked producers, legislators, business association representatives, and experts, plus a quantitative sentiment analysis, finds systematic tensions between pragmatic acceptance of economic benefits from agribusiness exports and deep concerns about reliance on China, which together create attitudinal ambivalence. These results contribute to theoretical development of the concept of “ambivalence,” extending it for the first time to the arena of comparative political economy

Agribusiness · Ambivalence · China · Developing country · Politics · Salient · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · International Development and Aid

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