You’ll find freedom with us, Xi Jinping tells America’s neighbours

You’ll find freedom with us, Chinese President Xi Jinping has told America’s backyard in a video address.

President Xi Jinping said challenges could be overcome ‘through closer co-operation’.

China’s President Xi Jinping has called on Latin American and Caribbean countries to enter a “new era” of co-operation with Beijing, in a renewed effort to build strategic influence in the United States’ back yard.

In a video address to regional leaders, Xi said China was “ready to continue working with Latin American and Caribbean countries to help and make progress together, and advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom”.

Speaking at the seventh summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) in Buenos Aires, Xi said China “always supports” the region, for which it was the second-largest trading partner after the US.

The world was “in a new period of turbulence and transformation” and challenges could be overcome “through closer co-operation”, he said.

In recent years Beijing has stepped up its influence in the Americas through infrastructure investment, Covid aid and military assistance. Twenty countries in the region, including Brazil, Argentina and Nicaragua, are taking part in China’s global infrastructure development strategy, the Belt and Road initiative.

During the pandemic, Latin America was the biggest recipient per capita of Chinese Covid vaccines. Beijing also donated medical supplies and equipment to 30 Latin American countries and sent medical expert teams.

China looks to Latin America for strategic imports crucial to industrial development, including soybean, copper, petroleum, oil and other raw materials.

Trade volumes between China and Latin America and the Caribbean exceeded $US450 billion ($630 billion) in 2021. The region depends on China as a valuable export market.

In 2021, Chile sent nine tenths of its 352,000 tonnes of exported cherries there. The World Economic Forum forecasts that the trade volume between China and the region will exceed that between the US and the region by 2035.

Over the past two decades, China not only drastically expanded trade, investment and aid in the region but also political and security ties. Xi said: “We highly value our relations with Celac, and take Celac as our key partner in enhancing solidarity among developing countries and furthering south-south co-operation.”

The Times