Trump is breaking China's foothold in the Americas

The Hill

07-04-2025

The Trump administration is dismantling and defeating China's stronghold in Latin America. It's not just traditional rhetoric but also tactical and concrete actions.
Honduras is considering reactivating its trade relationship with Taiwan. Mexico has closed the back door for Chinese products entering the U.S. Panama has broken up with the Belt and Road Initiative, and Colombia seems to be reconsidering its entry into this alliance. Meanwhile, Guatemala has closed its doors to communist China and strengthened its relationship with Taiwan.
The endless real estate crisis, the slowdown in population growth, and lower domestic consumption have all weakened China's economy. All this is happening just as President Trump takes office, more decisive and determined to regain U.S. hegemony in Latin America.
This week, Honduras gave us a massive surprise. Two years after breaking off relations with Taiwan, the Central American nation announced is seeking to re-engage economically. Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina acknowledged that all that glitters is not gold, and that exports to China have not grown as expected. Trade with the communist nation is unfair and unbalanced.
Chile is also reconsidering its relationship with China. The South American nation has discovered that its growing dependence upon the communist giant is not a blessing but perhaps quite the opposite. In 2022, 49.4 percent of Chile's exports went to China, as did 70 percent of its copper sales. Chile, meanwhile, has let China build out its telecommunications infrastructure and even purchased its electrical buses.
Strong U.S. leadership has reshaped many of these regional nations' relationships with China. Even the leftist government of Colombia, which last year announced its plans to join the Belt and Road Initiative, has delayed its decision and may never to move forward with this bad idea.
Last month, Mexico announced that it will review and reverse its China tariff policy, putting and end to the nefarious back door China uses to access U.S. markets. President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico is seeking to reduce imports from Asia. The so-called Plan Mexico is reviewing the priorities of the U.S.'s biggest trading partner. 'We do not privilege the countries with which we don't have trade treaties', Sheinbaum stated. 'We do not have any with China'.
The Trump effect is real. Two years ago, Mexico was spending $4.6 billion buying cars subsidized by China's communist regime, more than the $4.4 billion spent on American cars. Those days are over.
China's Belt and Road Initiative was buried in Panama after the visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — a massive news event disregarded and dismissed by politicized mass media. But this was an important battle, won with diplomatic bullets and rare leadership not seen since the days of President Ronald Reagan.
There's no escaping it — the Trump administration is pushing back China's influence in the Americas. U.S. presence and partnerships in region are being strengthened by visits from top ranking officials from the State Department, Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Southern Command, among others.
In defense and security, the U.S. is also strengthening cooperation with Guyana (on the Caribbean), Panama and El Salvador (in Central America) and Argentina and Peru in South America.
In just three months, the new Trump administration has regained and renewed lost U.S. leadership in Latin America. Although much remains to be done, the winds of change have begun to blow. Much remains to be done in areas such as reducing the use of Chinese technology, replacing infrastructure at ports and airports, and halting the massive plundering of strategic minerals such as lithium and copper.
Trump's return brings hope to the Western Hemisphere. It marks the return of a strong US leadership to the Americas. China's debt trap, bad quality products, unfair trade, exploitation and modern slavery proposals are no longer welcome in Latin America.