Xi Jinping courts Latin America with billions in funding, challenging US dominance
Xi Jinping has moved to deepen China’s influence in Latin America and the Caribbean with a major financial and trade push, aiming to displace the United States as the region’s key development partner.
Speaking in Beijing, the Chinese president announced a $9.18bn (£6.95bn) credit line for members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), alongside plans to boost imports from the region. The initiative is part of Beijing’s broader strategy to expand its global footprint and sway nations in the Global South.
“China and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are important members of the Global South,” Xi said. “Independence is our glorious tradition, development and revitalisation our natural right, and fairness and justice our common pursuit.”
The move is widely seen as a direct challenge to US influence in the region, especially in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies. Xi reiterated China’s opposition to trade wars, warning that “bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation” and called for greater cooperation in the face of global instability.
China’s growing presence in the region is also seen as part of its long-term strategy to isolate self-governed Taiwan. Of the 12 nations that have cut diplomatic ties with the island in recent years, seven are from Latin America or the Caribbean.
Bilateral trade between China and the CELAC bloc reached $515bn in 2024, up from $450bn the year before and just $12bn in 2000, according to Chinese customs figures.
