China strengthens ties in Latin America with loans, cooperative deals

UPI

22-05-2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently announced a $9.2 billion credit line for Latin America to support infrastructure, clean energy, artificial intelligence and digital connectivity, and he also unveiled a three-year plan that covers more than 100 joint projects in trade, education, health and food security. File photo by Paolo Aguilar/EPA-EFE
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, May 22 (UPI) -- China is expanding its economic and political footprint in Latin America through billions of dollars in loans and cooperative deals, further challenging U.S. influence in the region.
At the recent China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States forum, President Xi Jinping announced a $9.2 billion credit line for Latin America to support infrastructure, clean energy, artificial intelligence and digital connectivity.
He also unveiled a three-year plan that covers more than 100 joint projects in trade, education, health and food security. In a move to ease travel, China will waive visa requirements for citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
China became South America's largest trading partner in 2020, surpassing the United States. Trade with the region topped $500 billion last year and is projected to reach $750 billion by 2035.
Now, China is pushing beyond trade to secure long-term access to natural resources, markets and advanced technologies.
"China wants stable access to key commodities like oil, copper, lithium and food," said Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania. "Through its state-owned companies and investment deals, it's building control over supply chains and seeking greater economic leverage."
Ellis said China's strategy includes the raw material and high-tech sectors.
"It's not just about buying resources. It's also about exporting advanced products and ensuring a political climate that welcomes Chinese firms," he said.
Latin America's economies complement China's needs. The region has vast farmland and mineral reserves, while China's population of 1.4 billion people creates high demand for food and energy. Beijing already has invested nearly $180 billion across Latin America, according to Jorge Heine, a research professor focused on global studies at Boston University.
"China's focus has shifted from mining to infrastructure -- ports, highways, power plants and telecom projects," Heine said. "In Colombia, they're supporting wind and solar projects. Brazil recently signed long-term agreements with China for science and tech cooperation."
Scientific development is also part of China's global plan, according to Francisco Urdinez, director of the Center for Asian Studies at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University.
"China wants to lead in fields like computer science and biomedicine," Urdinez said. "Partnerships with Latin American universities can help develop patents, especially in areas like vaccine research."
In contrast to the Cold War superpower rivalry, China is not promoting a political ideology in Latin America.
"This isn't the Soviet Union. China isn't exporting communism," Ellis said. "It's protecting its own growth and shielding itself from geopolitical threats, including U.S. pressure."
Urdinez agreed, calling China's role mostly economic. "They're filling a gap left by the U.S. Their main tool is financial -- an enormous wallet, not ideology."
Washington has pushed back. This week, the United States praised Panama for pulling out of China's Belt and Road Initiative and criticized Argentina for renewing a currency swap deal with Beijing. It also opposed international credit support for projects involving Chinese companies, including Bogotá's subway system.
The China-CELAC Forum and the growing wave of Chinese-backed investments have deepened geopolitical tensions. U.S. officials see these moves as eroding their long-standing influence in Latin America, a region they have traditionally viewed as part of their strategic sphere.
As Beijing builds stronger economic ties, the United States faces new pressure to reassert its role in the region -- or risk losing ground to its largest global rival.