The Great Lakes were formed during the last ice age.
China
china is indeed a rising economic giant. The main reason why China has been doing well in latin America is simply because they do not have additional intrests beyond business. USA democratic dream is seen as a form of bullying by of these goernnments whose record for human rights is also below par.
They do not include Latvia, Vanuatu, Thailand, Chile, Jamaica, Tajikistan, The Holy See, Lesotho, Suriname, Wales, Israel, Papua New Guinea; Kiribati, Sri Lanka, Norway, and a whole lot of others.