Dragon in the Americas China’s Power, Presence, and Regional Influence

Introduction - Reframing the Debate.  1. From “Going with the Flow” to “Active Planning”: The Evolution of China’s Strategic Aims  2. Ports, the Panama Canal, and Strategic Support Points  3. Sitian: China’s Space Odyssey in the Americas  4. The Digital Silk Road in the Americas  5. The Global Security Initiative in the Americas- China’s Approach to Security Cooperation  6. The Cross-Strait Diplomatic Tug of War in the Americas  7. Chinese Geocriminality: Disentangling State and Non-State Chinese Actors  8. China’s Critical Minerals Tango in the Americas  9. The Balancing Act: LAC, China, the U.S., and Strategic Autonomy

Biography

Leland Lazarus is Founder and CEO of Lazarus Consulting LLC and a leading expert on China’s engagement in the Western Hemisphere, combining academic research with frontline policy experience. He has testified before Congress, taught U.S.-China relations at Florida International University, served as a State Department diplomat, and advised U.S. Southern Command on counter-China strategy. His work has appeared in NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Univision, Telemundo, The Miami Herald, and Foreign Policy Magazine. He lives in Miami with his wife Christina and two sons Luca and Elio.

Lazarus masterfully charts China’s expanding reach across Latin America—from strategic ports to space, digital networks, and critical minerals. This is a clear-eyed assessment of shifting power in our own hemisphere. A bracing wake-up call for policymakers, sailors, and anyone navigating today’s great-power competition.

Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, former commander of US Southern Command

 

Lazarus provides an impressively detailed, comprehensive, up-to-date, yet remarkably readable panorama of PRC activities in the region, accurately portraying their strategic character, while acknowledging both the commercial and political-military imperatives of the PRC-based entities pursuing them. This is work that only Leland could have written, combining fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, and English, with his first-hand experience in the region on the topic, including his time in the U.S. State Department, and U.S. Southern Command. If you read only one work this year on Chinese engagement with Latin America, make it this one.

R. Evan Ellis, Research Professor of Latin American Studies, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute

 

Lazarus moves beyond the 'threat vs. white knight' binary to offer a sophisticated, multi-theoretical framework that reveals how ports, minerals, digital infrastructure, and space cooperation are quietly redrawing the balance of power in the Western Hemisphere. Rigorous without being inaccessible, this is an essential read for anyone serious about where U.S.-China competition stands today and where it is heading.

Margaret Myers, Managing Director, Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAIS

 

A masterpiece in strategic thought, China's Grand Strategy in the Americas is an unsurpassed book on China in Latin America and the Caribbean. Leland's extensive research, deep personal experience including fluency in English, Mandarin, and Spanish, and thoughtful analysis have combined to produce this gem.  A must read for anyone in business, government, academia, or national security who desires a better, historically grounded understanding, of great power competition both in our neighborhood of the Western Hemisphere and around the globe.

Admiral Craig S. Faller (ret), Former Commander, U.S. Southern Command

 

Lazarus has produced one of the most sophisticated and nuanced assessments of China's relationship with Latin America. Rejecting the simple narratives of "China Threat" vs "US white knight," Lazarus carefully assesses the diversity of ways China has expanded its influence, as well as how Latin American countries have leveraged China for their own strategic goals. This book combines strong theory, analysis and empirics to produce a study that is a "must read" for policymakers and scholars alike.

Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies and Cling Family Senior Fellow in US-China Relations, Georgetown University

 

Dragon in the Americas arrives just as our attention is turning to the strategic implications of China’s financial, extractive, and propagandistic involvement in the region. Leland Lazarus can provide the depth of analysis and timely warnings this book contains because, as a diplomat and scholar, he has been ahead of U.S. policymakers in his close study of China, Latin America, and the Caribbean.”

Robert Daly, Director, Maryland China Initiative, The University of Maryland