China offered fresh credit lines and visa-free travel to Latin America on Tuesday in its latest move to encourage greater engagement with the region, although Brazil said its neighbours must not rely too heavily on foreign economic powers.
China will commit credit lines of just under $10 billion to Latin American countries to support development, but in yuan, President Xi Jinping said in a speech to kick off the China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting that gathered Latin American and Caribbean officials in Beijing.
The credit line, denominated in yuan, appears to be a push to further internationalise the Chinese currency, as China doubles down on deepening strategic and economic ties with Latin America.
During the inaugural China-CELAC Forum in 2015, Beijing offered $20 billion in credit to be used to help Chinese enterprises invest in infrastructure projects across the continent.
"China is doing a lot more yuan-based deals like this, particularly credit swap agreements that make it easier for the borrowing country to transact in RMB rather than USD," said Eric Orlander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.
But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the region must remain independent of world economic powers amid the global economic turmoil triggered by Washington's tariff wars.
Latin America and the Caribbean should not become a "stage for hegemonic disputes", Lula said in a speech at the summit opening.
"It's important to understand, (the fate of Latin America) doesn't depend on anyone else, it does not depend on President Xi Jinping, does not depend on the United States, it does not depend on the European Union, it depends solely and simply on whether we want to be great or continue to be small," Lula said.
Of the $240 billion worth of goods China bought from Latin America last year, just under half came from Brazil, the region's largest economy.
U.S.-CHINA COMPETITION
The China-CELAC forum has been a vehicle to deepen dialogue between China and the bloc over trade, investment and infrastructure cooperation under China's Belt and Road Initiative, challenging American geopolitical and economic dominance in the region.
While the U.S. remains a notable trading partner in Latin America, some countries especially in South America have stronger economic ties with China.
Brazil for one, has been aligning more closely with China, announcing more than $4.5 billion of upcoming Chinese investments in Brazilian sectors ranging from automaking and renewable energy to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Brazilian officials also touted a meeting between the presidents as a chance to lure investment and boost Brazilian exports to a country frustrated with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Tuesday's summit takes place after a weekend of high-stakes trade talks between the U.S. and China that led to both sides agreeing a 90-day pause and tariffs would be reduced to a 10% baseline rate.
China also agreed to roll back other non-tariff measures.
Xi reiterated China's stance that trade and tariff wars do not yield winners, saying "bullying and tyranny will only isolate oneself", without referring to the U.S.
VISA-FREE FOR FRIENDS
Aside from credit lines, China will also implement a visa-free policy for five Latin American and Caribbean countries, Xi said without detailing which countries they were.
The visa-free policy will be expanded to cover more countries in due course.
Trade between China and Latin America exceeded $500 billion for the first time last year, Xi said, hitting a goal he declared a decade ago. That was up from the $450 billion in 2023, and just $12 billion in 2000.
Two-way trade between China and the CELAC members came in at $515 billion in 2024, according to Chinese customs data, buoyed by the world's second-largest economy stepping up its purchases of foodstuffs, timber, energy and other commodities.
Xi also called for Latin American and China to cooperate more closely in clean energy, 5G telecommunications, digital economy, AI, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics.
The Colombian and Chilean presidents were also present at the summit.
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The credit line, denominated in yuan, appears to be a push to further internationalise the Chinese currency, as China doubles down on deepening strategic and economic ties with Latin America.
During the inaugural China-CELAC Forum in 2015, Beijing offered $20 billion in credit to be used to help Chinese enterprises invest in infrastructure projects across the continent.
"China is doing a lot more yuan-based deals like this, particularly credit swap agreements that make it easier for the borrowing country to transact in RMB rather than USD," said Eric Orlander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.
But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the region must remain independent of world economic powers amid the global economic turmoil triggered by Washington's tariff wars.
Latin America and the Caribbean should not become a "stage for hegemonic disputes", Lula said in a speech at the summit opening.
"It's important to understand, (the fate of Latin America) doesn't depend on anyone else, it does not depend on President Xi Jinping, does not depend on the United States, it does not depend on the European Union, it depends solely and simply on whether we want to be great or continue to be small," Lula said.
Of the $240 billion worth of goods China bought from Latin America last year, just under half came from Brazil, the region's largest economy.
U.S.-CHINA COMPETITION
The China-CELAC forum has been a vehicle to deepen dialogue between China and the bloc over trade, investment and infrastructure cooperation under China's Belt and Road Initiative, challenging American geopolitical and economic dominance in the region.
While the U.S. remains a notable trading partner in Latin America, some countries especially in South America have stronger economic ties with China.
Brazil for one, has been aligning more closely with China, announcing more than $4.5 billion of upcoming Chinese investments in Brazilian sectors ranging from automaking and renewable energy to pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Brazilian officials also touted a meeting between the presidents as a chance to lure investment and boost Brazilian exports to a country frustrated with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Tuesday's summit takes place after a weekend of high-stakes trade talks between the U.S. and China that led to both sides agreeing a 90-day pause and tariffs would be reduced to a 10% baseline rate.
China also agreed to roll back other non-tariff measures.
Xi reiterated China's stance that trade and tariff wars do not yield winners, saying "bullying and tyranny will only isolate oneself", without referring to the U.S.
VISA-FREE FOR FRIENDS
Aside from credit lines, China will also implement a visa-free policy for five Latin American and Caribbean countries, Xi said without detailing which countries they were.
The visa-free policy will be expanded to cover more countries in due course.
Trade between China and Latin America exceeded $500 billion for the first time last year, Xi said, hitting a goal he declared a decade ago. That was up from the $450 billion in 2023, and just $12 billion in 2000.
Two-way trade between China and the CELAC members came in at $515 billion in 2024, according to Chinese customs data, buoyed by the world's second-largest economy stepping up its purchases of foodstuffs, timber, energy and other commodities.
Xi also called for Latin American and China to cooperate more closely in clean energy, 5G telecommunications, digital economy, AI, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics.
The Colombian and Chilean presidents were also present at the summit.
