Ecuador Source: Google Images
The FT reports today that China is extending a much-needed $1 billion loan to the government of Ecuador, one of the worst-run countries on the planet, as a downpayment on oil deliveries to the Asian juggernaut. Ecuador has oil, as well as other assets, including in tourism (for example, the Galapagos Islands, the Andes, and charming Quito), but it has been mismanaged by elites for decades, leaving its indigenous population impoverished and its debt in default. China needs oil. These countries need each other. Read an earlier post on China and Latin America.
