Located in the heart of colonial San Salvador, a large and impressive library was opened this week by President Nayib Bukele, demonstrating China’s increasing influence across Central America.
Accompanied by the Chinese ambassador, Bukele toured the seven-story building, which was constructed at a cost of $54 million funded by China.
The building covers 24,000 square meters (260,000 square feet) and features gaming and robotics areas, interactive digital screens, a digital library, and shelves holding 360,000 books, as reported by the government on Tuesday.
The day after, Laureano Ortega, the son of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, inspected 250 Chinese-made buses and expressed gratitude to Beijing for the “special relationship” that he claimed was lifting the nation out of poverty.
“The new politics of the region has accelerated China’s influence and created distance…
