Related Links: China-Latin America Finance Database, Boston University Interactive Map of China's Lending to Latin American Countries China To Dispatch 5000 Workers To Kenya For Rail Construction (Ventures Africa) As excitement over World Cup competition in Brazil ebbed in mid-July, Latin American politicians were still busy playing host to China’s President Xi Jinping, who dashed through Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela signing deals for about 150 projects worth some $70 billion. They included construction of a metro rail in Brazil and several projects in Argentina worth $7 billion."We know that cooperation with China has not brought us debt, but greater

When faced with controversies involving the country's prestigious high-speed-rail program, Chinese officials are not shy about departing from the Communist Party line that is carefully scripted in Beijing. Instead of blandly agreeing that setbacks are minor and all is well, they instead are willing to find fault and even differ with each other publicly.

The Office of Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam, and multidisciplinary engineer Arup, designers of the $733-million Television Cultural Center in Beijing, are declining to comment on the damage to the primarily concrete-framed building as a result of a dramatic Feb. 9 blaze that engulfed all 31 stories and killed one firefighter. But a city official says the basic structure is intact and most of the damage from the five-and-a-half-hour fire is affected only the exterior surface of the walls. Slide Show Photo: AP/Wideworld Observers speculate titanium-zinc alloy may have fueled fire on outside of tower. The fire at the 159-meter-tall TVCC tower,