Latest news with #ZhuJingyang
Free Malaysia Today
7 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
China not trying to ‘replace' US in Colombia, says ambassador
President Gustavo Petro (left), who clashed with US counterpart Donald Trump over deportation issues, recently announced a pivot to China. (EPA Images pic) BOGOTA : China is not seeking to 'replace' the US as the top trading partner of Colombia, Beijing's ambassador to Bogota, whose president has announced a pivot to China, told AFP on Tuesday. Until recently Colombia was one of the US' closest trade and security partners in Latin America. But the country's first leftist president Gustavo Petro, who has crossed swords with his US counterpart Donald Trump, is trying to steer more trade towards China. China's ambassador to Bogota denied that Beijing was seeking to topple the US from its pole position in Latin America. 'China is coming to offer our collaboration, not to replace anyone, nor seeking to take someone's place,' Zhu Jingyang told AFP on the sidelines of a media briefing. Earlier this month, Colombia formally joined China's vast Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure programme. Bogota's accession boosted Beijing's efforts to deepen ties with Latin America, a key battleground in its confrontation with the Trump administration. It came in the wake of a showdown between Trump and Petro over deportation flights which ended in humiliation for Colombia. After initially denying entry to US military planes carrying deported Colombians in January, Bogota sent its own planes to bring them home to avoid hefty US tariffs threatened by Trump. The business community in Latin America's fourth-biggest economy has expressed fears that Petro's rapprochement with China could damage Colombia's trade with the US. The state department's special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, warned recently that the US might start buying flowers and coffee – two of Colombia's top exports to the US – from other Latin American countries instead. Zhu accused the Trump administration of using 'intimidation' and 'blackmail' to try keep Colombia in its orbit. Two-thirds of Latin American countries have already joined the Belt and Road Initiative.
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Offers to Fund Colombia Projects If the US Blocks Loans
China could step in to finance infrastructure in Colombia and across Latin America if the US fulfills its threat to block funding, according to Beijing's ambassador to Bogota. Ambassador Zhu Jingyang said that China and the BRICS New Development Bank have $35 billion available to finance more than 100 infrastructure projects in the region.
