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A session on “China’s Development Cooperation with Argentina and Brazil” was conducted under the joint China Fellowship Program at the University of Sargodha (UoS).
The session was led by Dr. Maria Haro Sly, an Argentinian scholar, a Ph.D. Candidate at Johns Hopkins University and Fellow at the Arrighi Center for Global Studies. 
The session focused on the key aspects of China’s engagement, including the internationalization of the Renminbi (RMB) and currency SWAP arrangements, the political economy of agribusiness, hydro-dams projects financed by China, and space cooperation initiatives. Dr. Maria highlighted how China’s investments are shaping Brazil and Argentina’s economic landscape, addressing both opportunities and constraints in these bilateral relationships.
The discussion emphasized the dynamic growth of trade and investment over the past two decades. In the early 2000s, China was not a major trading partner for either Argentina or Brazil. However, by 2024–2025, China has emerged as a crucial economic partner, with Brazil ranking as the second-largest recipient of Chinese investment. The session explored China’s geoeconomic strategies in Brazil and how both Argentina and Brazil are contributing to science and technology collaborations with China. 
Furthermore, Dr. Maria provided a thorough explanation of key economic and financial aspects of China’s engagement with Argentina and Brazil. She detailed the RMB and SWAP arrangements, central bank reserves, and the significance of GNI per capita in assessing economic development. She also analyzed bilateral trade trends, highlighting Argentina’s exports to China, and outlined Chinese investment and financing initiatives, emphasizing how these measures are supporting Argentina’s economic growth, infrastructure development, and broader development objectives. 
She also discussed how these collaborations are strengthening financial stability, fostering sustainable development, and creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and technological cooperation between the nations.
The session featured an engaging question-and-answer segment, during which students actively participated and exchanged perspectives with the speaker. This learning session provided participants with a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted cooperation between China and Latin America, underscoring the growing strategic and economic importance of these partnerships in the global arena.
The session concluded with closing remarks from Prof. Dr. Tahir Mumtaz Awan, Director of the Pakistan Institute for China Studies (PICS) and Host Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Sargodha, who expressed his gratitude to Dr. Maria for her insightful presentation and thorough analysis of China’s engagement with Argentina and Brazil. 
The session was moderated by Ms. Yusra Binte Nisar, Research Assistant at the Pakistan Research Centre for a Community with a Shared Future (PRCCSF), Islamabad and Ms. Alishba Aslam, Research Officer at Pakistan Institute of China Studies University of Sargodha (PICS-UOS).